
Class 

Book.. 

Copyright)^". 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



HANS DRINKER; OR, THE SILVER SKATES. 

A Story of Life in Holland. 

BY 

MARY MAPES DODGE. 

NEW AND SUPERBLY ILLUSTRATED EDITION. 

I vol. i2mo, cloth, $1.50. 



Theophilus and Others. 

A Book for Older Readers. 

BY THE AUTHOR OF "HANS BRINKER." 

One vol. i2mo, $1.50. 



RHYMES AND JINGLES 



MARY MAPES DODGE 

AUTHOR OF "hANS BRINKER," ETC 




NEW YORK 

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 

1903 




THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRE-SS, 

Two Copies Receiveo 

SEP 30 1903 

Cooynghi tntry 

CLASS CL XXc. No 

XOPY B. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, 

ec ^ci , .^Y SQK^L^NER,^ A'<MSTKONG, AND COMPANY, 

'■tl '< ^ J'he Office of ^t&&.L;braeianiP Congress, «t Wasiiington, D. C 
c* 1 -^cc c c«« Copyctgkt,-i9oie, by Mary Mapes Dodge 



MANHATTAN PRESS 

474 W. BROADWAY 

NEW YORK 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



2AGE 

Going to London i 

The Mayor of Scuttleton 2 

Fire in the Window . .^ 2 

Cousin Jeremy 3 

Thinking Aloud 4 

"Bye, Baby, Night is Come" 6 

Elfin Jack, the Giant-K i.ler 7 

My Laddie 10 

March .10 

Snow 12 

Oh, where are all the Good Little Girls ? . , . .12 

Calling the Flowers 13 

GARDEN SONGS. 

Little Green Hummer 14 

Gluck ! Gluck ! 15 

A Lad of Nansook, a Balsam-pod took . . . . 16 

I 'd search the World over, for one Four-leaved Clover 16 

Find me a Stem of the Tiger Lily 17 

Good Mistress Sundial 18 

Some One in the Garden 18 

Wirelocks, Curly-pate, Tangle, and Floss .... 18 

Old Bum of Bumbleby 19 

Under the Willow, out of the Rain 19 

Little Polly always Clever 20 

Lifp up your Face, Litfle Daisy ! 21 

I KNOW where there 's A BEAUTIFUL ShOE .... 22 

Hobbledy Hops 23 

Bright Little Buttercup 24 



viii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

The Ants 25 

Burs 26 

Hollyhock, Hollyhock, bend for Me ! 27 

The Evening Primrose 28 

Ho, Dandelion ! My Lightsome Fellow ! .... 28 



Song of Summer 29 

Little Beginnings 30 

MOONEY AND BlACKY 3I 

The Moon came late to a Lonesome Bog .... 32 

Johnny the Stout 32 

A Farmer in Bungleton had a Colt 34 

The Drinking-Pan 35 

The Shrewd Lad of Cooloo 36 

There was a Fine Youth of Pike's Peak .... 36 

Stocking Song on Christmas Eve 37 

In Trust 38 

A Song of St. Nicholas 39 

Flowers 41 

The Little Mother 43 

Among the Animals 44 

Old Doctor Paff -45 

The Little Girl who would n't eat Crusts . . 46 

Poor Little Toddlekins .47 

Song of the Ducks 49 

That's what We'd Do , . 50 

Little Pipkin 52 

A Riddle 52 

Old Simon 53 

Wake up. Birdie ! 54 

The Difference (Three Old Ladies) 55 

Billy Boy 58 

Christmas Bells 60 

Shepherd John 62 

My Week 64 

Baby in Dreamland 66 

Lulu's Birthday 68 

The Star Family 69 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. IX 

As I WAS Going 70 

Two Little Froggies 70 

One and One ... 72 

Birdies with Broken Wings 73 

Willie's Lodger 74 

Four Liitle Piggies bound for a Frolic .... 76 

Spinning your Top 76 

Good Morning ! 78 

Lady Bird and Daddy Longlegs 79 

Would n't and Would 80 

Nell and Her Bird .... .... 82 

There was an Old Weather-vane 84 

Dumpy Dicky 84 

Have You heard the News, Good Neighbor? ... 85 

The New Slate 87 

Little Pot soon hot 89 

Nell's Notions 90 

Whether Fair, Whether Foul 91 

Snow, Snow, Everywhere 92 

Some One we cannot hear 93 

A Stranger in the Pew 93 

The Queen o' May 96 

Pussy's Class 98 

TWISTAN, TURNEM, LET ME SeE ICG 

Wandering Joe 100 

Never a Night so Dark and Drear loi 

The Rats 102 

In the Wood 106 

Comb Music : . 108 

In the Basket . . o . no 

Coming no 

The Dainty Miss Rose n2 

Poor Little Mousie 115 

Waiting for Father .117 

What Shall I Buy ? 118 

rut-a-tut-tuts 119 

Halloo, Old Scuttle, Where's /our Coal.? . . . 120 

Oh No ! 120 

The Sanpman 122 



X TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Trouijle in the Greenhouse 125 

Ten Kinds 126 

Have You Apples, Good Grocer? 127 

The Old Woman of Wigg 128 

The Brave Knight of Lorraine 128 

The Old Doctor of Brille 129 

Fairy Tales 130 

Good Night ! 133 

Kittens i33 

Resolution 134 

Washing-Day 136 

The Little Mote 138 

When I was Little 138 

What makes Baby Brave and Bright ? 139 

The Alphabet 140 

Early to Bed and Early to Rise . . . . . . 142 

The Cook's Little B(jy 142 

Harry 144 

Three Ways 145 

Tom of Clapham 146 

What they Say 146 

One Step, Two Step 147 

Melons 148 

How many Things in My Pocket? 150 

The Gallant Outriders 151 

Busy Bee ! Busy Bee ! 153 

Bobbin's Friend 155 

The Way to Do it 156 

There 's a Fkagrance in the Blossom 158 

Willy and His Pipe 158 

I Had a Little Scotchman 160 

Trottery, Trottery i6r 

Lazy Lou 161 

Up in the Morning Early 162 

Pins, in the Carpet 162 

If Pussy were made of Leather 163 

Be Careful ..... 164 

Farm Lessons 165 

Up in a Balloon 166 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. xi 

The Kitten Picture i68 

Some are Starving 169 

Poor Crow ! 170 

The Wooden Horse 171 

Tinker, come isring your Solder 173 

There was a Rare Boy 173 

Taking Time to Grow 174 

The Naughty Boy 176 

LriTLE Miss Limberkin 178 

The Frog who would n't a Wooing Go 179 

The Stubborn Boot 190 

The Little Dutchman 192 

I Gave my Puss a Macaroon 193 

Willie 194 

The Pig and the Lark ........ 196 

The Well-meaning Froc; 196 

The Frost King 199 

After the Winter 201 

Little Whimpy 204 

Night and Day 206 

At the Window 206 

Out of the Shell 208 

Bees in the Manger 209 

Baby Nell 209 

Lemons for Molly 210 

Jamie's Troubles 210 

Jean and Kitty 211 

Doggie's Tricks 212 

Some Children roam the Fields and Hills . . . 214 

A Common Mistake 214 

Little Minnie Stowe 215 

Letting the Old Cat Die 216 

What shall we take to Boston ? 219 

Learning to Pray . . . . „ 220 

Trotty Malone 222 

Don't Trust Chatter 222 

Red and White 223 

The Third of July 227 

When I am Big 229 



-U- 



xii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Wind for the Tree Top 229 

Here are Plenty of Shells 229 

Little Bell Dreer and the Dish-cover 230 

Master Tremble's Adventure 232 

Hark ! My Children 235 

The Terrible Ball 236 

Benny's Buttons 241 

If Cows wore Satin Slippers c . 242 

Bumble Bramble 242 

Nobody near Him, all in the Dark 242 

Oh No, 'Tis n't So 243 

The Sun and the Stars . 243 

A Birthday Rhyme 246 

Mother Goose for Big Folks 248 

How the New Year Came 250 

Children's Hymn 254 




RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



GOING TO LONDON. 

Up, down ! Up, down ! 
All the way to London town - 
Sunny road, and shady. 
I 'm the papa, 
You 're the ma'ma, 
You 're the pretty lady ! 

Up, down ! Up, down ! 
All the way to London town 
See how fast we 're going ! 
Feel the jar 
Of the car ? 
Feel the wind a-blowing.? 

Up, down ! Up, down ! 
All the way to London town 
Here we are this minute ! 
Rock a chair 
Anywhere, 
When we two are in it. 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



THE MAYOR OF SCUTTLETON. 

The Mayor of Scuttleton burned his nose 

Trying to warm his copper toes ; 

He lost his money and spoiled his will 

By signing his name with an icicle-quill ; 

He went bare-headed, and held his breath, 

And frightened his grandame most to death ; 

He loaded a shovel, and tried to shoot, 

And killed the calf in the leg of his boot ; 

He melted a snow-bird, and formed the habit 

Of dancing jigs with a sad Welsh rabbit ; 

He lived on taffy, and taxed the town ; 

And read his newspaper upside down ; 

Then he sighed, and hung his hat on a feather, 

And bade the townspeople come together ; 

But the worst of it all was, nobody knew 

What the Mayor of Scuttleton next would do. 



Fire in the window ! flashes in the pane ! 
Fire on the roof-top ! blazing weather-vane ! 
Turn about, weather-vane ! put the fire out ! 
The sun's going down, sir, I have n't a doubt. 



COUSIN JEREMY, 




He came behind me, and covered nxy eyes, 
" Who is this ? " growled he, so sly, 

Why, Cousin Jeremy, how can I tell, 
When my eyes are shut ? " said I. 



HHYMES AND y/NGLES. 




Little Jenny with a pail 
Tripping to the spring; 

Little Jack astride a rail 
Laughed to hear hei sing. 



THINKING ALOUD, 




Little Jenny softly said, 

"I'm tired as I can be." 
But Jack was sure that the little maid 

Said, "Carry my pail for me." 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




Bye, baby, day is over, 

Bees are drowsing in the clover 

Bye, baby, bye ! 
Now the sun to bed is ghding, 
All the pretty flowers are hiding ; 

Bye, baby, bye ! 

Bye, baby, birds are sleeping ; 
One by one the stars are peeping ; 

Bye, baby, bye ! 
In the far-off sky they twinkle. 
While the cows come tinkle, tinkle ; 

Bye, baby, bye ! 

Bye, baby, mother holds thee ; 
Loving, tender care infolds thee ; 

Bye, baby, bye ! 
Angels in thy dreams caress thee ; 
Through the darkness guard and bless thee ; 

Bye, baby, bye ! 



SLPW JACK, THE GIANT-KILLER. 



ELFIN JACK, THE GIANT-KILLER. 

Do not think the story 
Of the giant-killer's glory 
Is known and cherished only by yourselves, 
O, my dears ; 




For his deeds so daring, 
And his trick of scaring 
All his foes, are quite familiar to the elves. 
It appears. 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

In the starlight, tender — 
In the moonlight's splendor 
Do they gather and recount every deed, 
It is said ; 
How he met a hornet. 
Who was playing on a cornet, 
Out of tune; and he slew him with a reed,— 
Slew him dead ! 

How, growing ever bolder, 
With his reed upon his shoulder. 
And an acorn-shield upon his little arm 
Well equipped — 
He sought a mighty giant, 
Who was known as " Worm, the pliant,' 
And after giving battle, fierce and warm, 
Left him whipped. 

How he saw a spider 
With her victim, dead, inside her, 
Told her, in a voice of fury, to begone 
From his sight ; 
How he killed her when she'd risen 
To her cruel, fatal prison. 
And nobly freed her captives, so forlorn, — 
Gallant knight ! 



'&' 



Ah, but the elves are proudest, 
And ring his praises loudest, 
When telling of a snail, grim and hoary, 
In his mail. 



ELFIN JACK, THE GIANT-KILLER. 

With those fearful horns before him, 
Jack gallantly upbore him, 
And killed him with a thrust (to his glory) 
In the tail ! 




List in the starlight, tender,— 
List in the moonlight's splendor, — 
For a whirring, like hurrahing, in the glen, 
Far and near. 
'Tis the elves who, looking back 
To their giant-killer. Jack, 
Tell his story to each other, funny men ! 
With a cheer. 



10 RHYMES AND JINGLES, 



MY LADDIE. 

Oh ! have you seen my laddie ? 

His heart is true and kind ; 
His cheeks are fresh and rosy, 

His hair floats on the wind. 

He's a brave and lightsome laddie, 

On honest toil intent. 
Oh ! we had some words this morning. 

And I don't know where he v/ent. 

You'll know if he's my laddie 

By the twinkle in his ee 
When you whisper to him softly 

That he may come to me. 



MARCH. 



In the snowing and the blowing, 

In the cruel sleet, 
Little flowers begin their growing 

Far beneath our feet. 
Softly taps the Spring, and cheerly,' 

" Darlings, are you here 1 " 
Till they answer, *' We are nearly. 

Nearly ready, dear." 



MARCH. 



II 



•* Where is Winter, with his snowing? 

Tell U3, Spring," they say. 
Then she answers, " He is going, 

Going on his way. 
Poor old Winter does not love you ; 

But his time is past ; 
Soon my birds shall sing above you,- 

Set you free at last." 




12 RHYMES AND JINGLES, 



SNOW. 

Little white feathers, filUng the air — 
Little white feathers ! how came ye there ? 
*' We came from the cloud-birds sailing so high ; 
They 're shaking their white wings up in the sky. 

Little white feathers, how swift you go ! 
Little white feathers, I love you so ! 
" We are swift because we have work to do ; 
But hold up your face, and we'll kiss you true." 



Oh, where are all the good little girls, — 

Where are they all to-day } 
And where are all the good little boys.? 

Tell me, somebody, pray. 
Safe in their fathers' and mothers' hearts 

The girls are stowed away ; 
And where the girls are, look for the boys, — 

Or so I've heard folk say. 



CALLING THE FLOWERS. 



15 



CALLING THE FLOWERS. 

Blow loud for the blossoms that live in the trees, 
And low for the daisies and clover ; 

But as soft as I can for the violets shy, 
Yes softly — and over and over. 




14 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



GARDEN SONGS. 




Little green Hummer 
Was born in the summer ; 
His coat was as bright 
As the emerald's light. 
Short was his song, 
Though his bill it was long ; 
His weight altogether 
Not more than a feather. 
From clipping his head 
In the sunset red, 
And gilding his side 
In its fiery tide, 
He gleamed like a jewel, 
And darted around, 
'Tvvixt sunlight and starlight, 
Ne'er touching the ground. 



GARDEN SONGS 1 5 

Now over a blossom, 
Now under, now in it ; 
Here, there, and everywhere, 
All in a minute. 
Ah ! never he cared 
Who wondered and stared,— 
His life was completeness 
Of pleasure and sweetness ; 
He revelled in lightness, 
In fleetness and brightness, 
This sweet little Hummer 
That came with the summer 



Gluck ! gluck ! From under a log. 

Squatting and leaping, comes Flucky the Frog. 

Wide is his mouth, and spreading his toes ; 

Very elastic and shiny his clothes ; 

Though lofty his jumpings and brazen his stare, 

He sees not the Hummer that flits in the air. 




I6 RHYMES AND JINGLES, 



A LAD of Nansook 

A balsam-pod took, 
And he pressed the ends with a will 

The sudden report 

Was capital sport, 
And the seeds they are flying still. 



Oh, I'd search the world over 
For one four-leaved clover ! 

Bend low, pretty grass, bend low! 
Jump, little crickets ! and tumble, you bees ! 
Green Httle grasshoppers, limber your knees ^ 

There's one hidden somewhere, I know. 




GARDEN SONGS. 



17 




Sunlight or starlight, 

Tilly, my nilly, 
Find me a stem 

Of the tiger-lily ; 
I'll fill it full 

From the fountain there, 
And spirt the water 

Over your hair ! 



1 8 RHYMES AMD JINGLES. 



"Good Mistress Sundial, what's the hour?" 
" Alack ! to tell you I have n't power. 
It rains ; and I only can work, you see, 
When the sun is casting his light upon me. 
I'm nothing at all but a senseless block 

Whenever his beautiful rays depart ; 
But ask my neighbor, the Four-o'clock ; 
She carries the time o' day in her heart." 



Some one in the garden murmurs all the day ; 
Some one in the garden moans the night away ; 
Deep in the pine-trees, hidden from our sight, 
He murmurs all day, and moans all the night. 



Wire-locks, Curly-pate, Tangle, and Floss, 
To make some fine curls they were quite at a loss, 
Till they found them a field of the bright dandelion, 
And made the green ringlets with only half trying. 



GARDEN SONGS. 



19 



Old Bum of Bumbleby bumped his nose, 
Trying to light on a damask rose ; 
He bumped his nose, but he didn't care 
As he pitched about in the dizzy air. 
Whenever he tried to his love to fly. 
He would shoot ahead and pass her by ; 
So he tumbled at last on a larkspur near, 
And buzzed his business into her ear. 




Under the willow, out of the rain, 
We'll string us many a lilac chain. 
Shining and sweet, and fair to see, 
Some for my darling and some for me. 



20 



RHYMES AND JINGLES, 




Little Polly, always clever, 

Takes a leaf of live-forever; 

Before you know it 

You see her blow it, 

A gossamer sack 

With a velvet back. 

How big it grows 

As she puffs and blows! 



GARDEN SONGS. 



21 



But have a care, 

It is full of air. 

Ere Polly will stop 

It'll crack with a pop ; 

And that's the end of the live-forever; 

But little Polly is very clever. 



LIFT UP YOUR FACE, LITTLE DAISY." 




Lift up your face, little daisy, pray; 

I can't stand here in the grass all day. 

Jamie sent me, and Jamie is sick. 

He says you are far too sweet to pick. 

But he gave me something to give to you ; 

So hold up your cheek, little daisy, do. 



ii 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



I KNOW where there's a beautiful shoe, 

Tiny and sweet, and ready for you ; 

It hides away in the balsam-flower. 

But I'll find you a pair in less than an hour. 

"Thank you, my laddie; now this I'll do, 
I'll pluck a heart-flower just for you; 




The hearts hang close on a bending spray, 
And every heart hides a lyre away. 



" How shall you find it ? I '11 tell you true : 
You gently sunder the heart in two, 
And under the color, as white as milk, 
You'll find the lyre with its strings of silk. 



GARDEN SONGS. 



23 



HOBBLEDY HOPS.. 




HocBLEDY Hops 
He made some tops 

Out of the morning-glory ; 
He used the seed, — 
He did indeed ; 

And that's the end of my story. 



24 



RHYMES AND yiNGLES 




Bright little buttercup, now you will shew 
Whether my darling likes butter or no. 
Buttercup, buttercup, will you begin? 
Shine me an answer under her chin. 



GARDEN SONGS. 



25 



THE ANTS. 

Good Mistress Ant, I pray, what is the matter? 
Why this commotion without any clatter? 
"Alack! alack! we're ruined, you see; 
I've lost my children, and they've lost me! 
Our houses have fallen, our city is gone. 
And thousands are murdered or running forlorn. 
Ah me ! who would think that such power to destroy 
Could lurk in the heel of a bare-footed boy?" 




26 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



BURS. 

Dear me ! 

What shall it be? 
Such sticky affairs 

Did ever you see ? 
Let's make a basket, 

Let's make a mat, 
Let's make a tea-board, 

Let's make a hat ; 
Let's make a cottage, 

Windows and doors ; 
You do the roof, 

And I'll do the floors. 
Let's make a pancake,-- 

Stick 'em together ; 
See how they fasten 

Close to each other ! 
Tied to one's heel 

They would answer for spurs 
Ah, how we love 'em, 

These comical burs ! 



GARDEN SONGS. 



27 




Hollyhock, hollyhock, bend for me ; 
I want a cheese for my dolly's tea. 
I'll put it soon on an acorn plate, 
And dolly and I shall feast in statQ. 



28 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



When the sun is sinking low in the skies, 
The evening primrose opens her eyes. 

" Come back, dear Sun," she seems to say ; 

" I 've been dreaming of you the hve-long day/' 



Ho, DandeUon ! my lightsome fellow ! 
What's become of all your yellow? 
"My bonnie yellow it wouldn't stay, 
It turned about and it went away. 
Till nothing at all was left of me 
But the misty, feathery ball you see ; 
Yet pluck me off, and blow me well. 
The time o' day I'll surely tell." 

Whiff! whifif! "Blow again,— 
Blow with all your might and main." 
Whifif! whifif! That is four. 
Now I've but two feathers more. 
Whifif! How tight the last one sticks! 
Whifif! It's gone; and that makes six. 
The sun is getting low, I see, 
And we must hurry home to tea. 



SONG OF SUMMEx 



29 



-f^ 



SONG OF SUMMER. 

Up in the tree top, down in the ground, 
High in the blue sky, far, all around, — 
Near by and everywhere creatures are living, 
God in his bounty something is giving. 

Up in the tree top, down in the ground, 
High in the blue sky, far, all around, — 
Near by and everywhere creatures are striv- 
ing, 
Labor is surely the price of their thriving. 

Up in the tree top, down in the ground, 
High in the blue sky, far, all around, — 
Near by and everywhere, singing and hum- 
ming, 
Busily, joyfully. Summer is coming ! 








^Sflr ^ 



^O RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



LITTLE BEGINNINGS. 

A LITTLE girl on a little bench 

By a little window stood, 
And a little trouble was in her heart — 

" Ah ! if I were but good ! " 

" Not very, very good," she thought, 
'* Like dear cousin Jane who died ; 
But only patient, true and kind, 
And free from wicked pride. 

" I '11 pray for that at first," she said, 
" Our Father will help me try. 
And then, perhaps. He will show the way. 
To be very good by and by." 

Then upward rose the little prayer — 

So earnestly it went. 
That the little heart of the little maid 

Was filled with a sweet content. 

And standing there on the little bench, 
She looked up into the sky : 
'Til try to be good right off," she said. 
" And better yet, by and by/' 



MOONEY AND BLACKY, 



51 




To Mooney and her baby, 

Shut in the corner lot, 
I '11 carry a cooling pailful. 
For the day is close and hot. 
But Blacky and Snow can help themselves 
At the brook as well as not. 




32 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



The Moon came late to a lonesome bog, 
And there sat Goggleky Gluck, the frog. 
" My stars ! " she cried, and veiled her face, 
''' What very grand people they have in this place 




JOHNNY THE STOUT, 

"'* Ho, for a frolic ! " 

Said Johnny the stout ; 

■'There's coasting and sledding, 
I'm going out ! " 

Scarcely had Johnny 
Plunged in the snow, 

When there came a complaint 
Up from his toe : — 



yOHNNY THE STOUT. ^f 

"We're cold," said the toe, 
** I and the rest ; 
There are ten of us freezing 
Standing abreast." 

Then up spoke an ear : 

''My! but it's labor 
Playing in winter. Eh, 

Opposite neighbor ? " 

'* Pooh ! " said his nose, 

Angry and red ; 
" Who wants to tingle ? 

Go home to bed ! " 

Eight little fingers. 

Four to a thumb. 
All cried together, 

"Johnny, we're numb!" 

But Johnny the stout 

Would n't listen a minute ; 
Never a snow-bank 

But Johnny was in it. 

Tumbling and jumping, 

Shouting with glee, 
Wading the snow-drifts 

Up to his knee. 

Soon he forgot them, 
Fingers and toes, — 



3A RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

Never once thought of 
The ear and the nose. 

Ah, what a frolic ! 

All in a glow, 
Johnny grew warmer 

Out in the snow. 

Often his breathing 
Came with a joke : 
'' Blaze away, Johnny ! 
I'll do the smoke." 

"And I'll do the fire," 
Said Johnny the bold; 

" Fun is the fuel 

For driving off cold:' 



A FARMER in Bungleton had a colt 

That couldn't be taught to moo; 
And he kept his cow under lock and bolt 

Till the smith could make her a shoe. 
His ducks wouldn't gobble, his geese wouldn't quack 

His cat couldn't bark at all. 
" I 'm clean discouraged ! " he cried ; " alack ! 

I'll give up my farm in the fall." 



THE DRINKING-PAN. 



35 



THE DRINKING-PAN. 




KiPPY ! Kippy ! what a pleasure i 
Kippy ! Kippy ! such a treasure 1 
Here's a lake of water clear; 
Little Polly put it here. 

See, the water has a sky 
Like the one that shines so high 
All the other birds are there, 
Playing in the sunny air. 



Shall we ever sing and play 
In the sky the livelong day > 
Oh, no, no ! such silly tricks 
Would not do for downy chicks. 



36 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




There was a shrewd lad of Cooloo 

Who thought baby's tooth wasn't through. 

Says he, " Though I doubt, 

I'se a-gwine to find out." 
And he did — that shrewd lad of Cooloo. 



There was a fine youth of Pike's Peak 
Who raised a moustache in a week. 
When they called it "like down," 
Ah, how he would frown ! — 
This hairy young man of Pike's Peak. 



STOCKING SONG. 37 



STOCKING SONG ON CHRISTMAS EVE. 

Welcome, Christmas ! heel and toe, 
Here we wait thee in a row. 
Come, good Santa Claus, we beg, — 
Fill us tightly, foot and leg. 

Fill us quickly ere you go, — 
Fill us till we overflow. 
That's the way ! and leave us more 
Heaped in piles upon the floor. 

Little feet that ran all day 
Twitch in dreams of merry play ; 
Little feet that jumped at will 
Lie all pink, and warm, and still. 

See us, how we lightly swing ; 
Hear us, how we try to sing. 
Welcome, Christmas ! heel and toe, 
Come and fill us ere you go. 

Here we hang till some one nimbly 
Jumps with treasure down the chimi\ey, 
Bless us! how he'll tickle us! 
Funny old St Nicholas ! 



38 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



IN TRUST. 

It's coming, boys, 
It's almost here ; 

It's coming, girls. 

The grand New Year 

A year to be glad in, 

Not to be bad in ; 

A year to live in, 

To gain and give in ; 

A year for trying, 

And not for sighing ; 

A year for striving 

And hearty thriving ; 

A bright new year. 

Oh! hold it dear; 

For God who sendetb 

He only lendeth. 




A SONG OF ST. NICHOLAS. 39 



A SONG OF SAINT NICHOLAS. 

Come, ho ! sing, ho ! ye chimney sprites 

Come and a riddle unravel : 
Tell us true, by the dancing lights, 

Where does Saint Nicholas travel ? 

In the twinkling of an eye, 
Hither, thither, doth he hie, — 
North and south and east and west ; 
Not a moment doth he rest. 
Speeding here and speeding there. 
In an instant everywhere. 
Valleys, hills, and mountain passes, 
Sunny fields and drear morasses. 
Silent plains and busy towns, 
Yankee meadows, English downs,— 
Whether crowded, lone or wild. 
So it holds one little child, — 
Every spot, he knows by heart ; 
What if half the world apart .? 
In the twinkling of an eye 
Hither, thither, doth he hie. 

Prythee, this riddle unravel : 
How does Saint Nicholas travel .!* 

How does he travel ? This is the way : 
Sun or storm or blue or gray. 



40 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

Soon as he gathers his stock of toys, 
Laughing and nodding, but never a noise, 
Laughing and nodding, shaking his sides, 
This is the way Saint Nicholas rides : 
Not over mountains, not over streams. 
But gUding swift through the children's Jr^anis. 
Soon as their eyelids in slumber close. 
Hither and thither Saint Nicholas goes. 

But how do the little ones go to him ? 
Sing, ho ! When the winter waxeth dim. 
And, Christmas over, the children say, 

" Good Saint Nick ! he has gone away," 
Oho ! he strokes his jolly old nose. 
And lays him down for a quiet doze. 

" Ha, ha ! the snow is a capital bed ! " 
And he pulls his nightcap over his head. 
Asleep and resting, O good Saint Nick ! 
Now do the children play him a trick ; 
For, bright and rosy and lithe of limb, 
They travel quick in his dreams, to him. 
From every nook and possible place 
There peeps a beautiful baby-face. 
With joyous murmur and laughing hum. 
From every quarter the children come. 
Rosy, tender, and snow-flake soft, 
They throng about him or float aloft ; 
Closer they nestle, a hundred thick, 
And whisper, " We thank you, dear Saint Nick ; 
We've come to tell you we love you, dear." 
And Nicholas laughs in his sleep to hear. 



FLOWERS. 41 

Oho ! sing, ho ! and now you know : 

As soon as the Christmas Hghts are dim, 

And the saint no more his rounds doth go. 
The children flock, in his dreams, to him. 



FLOWERS. 



My little one came, and brought me a flower. 

Never a sweeter one grew ; 
But it faded and faded in one short hour, 

And lost all its pretty blue. 

My little one stayed in the room and played ; 

And so my flower bloomed bright, — 
My beautiful blossom that did not fade, 

But slept in my arms all night. 




42 



RHYMES Ai\D JINGLKS. 




NOW, DOLLY, DEAR, I 'M GOING AWAY.' 



THE LITTLE MOTHER. 43 



THE LITTLE MOTHER. 

Now, Dolly, dear, I'm going away, 

And want you to be good all day. 

Don't lose your shoes nor soil your dress, 

Nor get your hair all in a mess ; 

But lie quite still, and up I'll come 

To kiss you, soon as I get home. 

I'd take you, dear, but then, you know. 

It's wax Sabina's turn to go. 

She's sick, I'm 'fraid. Her eyes don't work; 

They open worse, the more I jerk ; 

She used to be so straight and stout. 

But now her sawdust's running out. 

Her kid is out of order, dear. 

My papa says she's out of gear. 

That's dreadful, isn't it.? But then 

The air may make her well again. 

So, Dolly, won't you stay alone. 

And be real good while I am gone } 

Good-by, my precious! Yes, I'll come 

And kiss you, soon as I get home. 



44 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



AMONG THE ANIMALS. 

One rainy morning, 

Just for a lark, 
I jumped and stamped 

On my new Noah's Ark : 
I crushed an elephant. 

Smashed a gnu. 
And snapped a camel 

Clean in two ; 
I finished the wolf 

Without half tryin*, 
And wild hyena. 

And roaring lion ; 
I knocked down Ham, 

And Japhet, too. 
And cracked the legs 

Of the kangaroo ; 
I finished, beside, 

Two pigs and a donkey, 
A polar bear. 

Opossum, and monkey ; 
Also the lions. 

Tigers, and cats, 
And dromedaries. 

And tiny rats — 
There wasn't a thing 

That didn't feel, 
Sooner or later. 

The weight o' my heel ; 



0/D DOCTOR PAFF. 



45 



I felt as grand 

As grand could be-=- 
But oh the whipping 

My mammy gave me ! 




Old Doctor Paff, he used to laugh 
Whenever he saw the brindle calf. 
But Doctor Paff thought best to bow 
When -x-^. hst he met the brindle cow. 



40 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



THE LITTLE GIRL WHO WOULDN'T EAT 
CRUSTS. 



\tv^x^ 




The awfulest times that ever could be 
They had with a bad Httle girl of Dundee, 

Who never would finish her crust. 
In vain they besought her, 
And patiently taught her, 

And told her she must. 



Her grandma would coax, 
And so would the folks. 
And tell her the sinning 
Of such a beginning. 
But no, she would n't, 
She could n't, she should n't, 



POOR LITTLE TODDLEKINS. 47 

She'd have them to know — 
So they might as well go. 

Now what do you think soon came to pass ? 

This little girl of Dundee, alas ! 

Who would n't take crusts in the regular way, 

Sat down to a feast one summer's day ; 

And what did the people that little girl give, 

But a dish of bread pudding — as sure as I live! 



Poor Httle Toddlekins, 
All full o' sketer-bites — 
Bodder him awful, 
Baby can't sleep o' nights. 
Buzzing all over him, 
Singing and tickling, 
In and out, round about, 
Nipping and prickling. 
Poor little Toddlekins, 
All full o' sketer-bites — 
Bodder him awful. 
Can't even sleep o' nights! 



48 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




SONG OF THE DOCKS. 4Q 



SONG OF THE DUCKS. 

One little black duck, one little gray, 

Six little white ducks, running out to play ; 

One white lady-duck, motherly and trim. 

Eight little baby ducks, bound for a swim ! 

One little white duck, holding up its wings. 

One little bobbing duck, making water-rings, 

One little black duck, turning round its head. 

One big black duck — guess he's gone to bed. 

One little white duck, running from the water, 

One very fat duck — pretty little daughter I 

One very brave duck, swimming off alone. 

One little white duck, standing on a stone. 

One little white duck, walking by its mother ; 

Look among the water-reeds, maybe there's another. 

Not another anywhere 1 surely you are blind. 
Push away the grass, dear ; ducks are hard to find. 
Bright little brown eyes! o'er the picture linger; 
Point me all the ducks out, chubby little finger ! 
Make the picture musical, merry little shout ! 
Now, where's that other duck } What is he about } 
I think the other duck's the nicest duck of all ; 
He hasn't any feathers, and his mouth is sweet and small ; 
He runs with a light step, and jumps upon my knee, 
And though he cannot swim, he is very dear to me. 

One white lady-duck, motherly and trim ; 
Eight little baby-ducks, bound for a swim ; 
One lazy black duck, taking quite a nap ; 
One little precious duck, here on mamma's lap! 
4 



50 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



THAT'S WHAT WE'D DO. 

If you were an owl, 
And I were an owl, 

And this were a tree, 
And the moon came out. 

I know what we 'd do. 

We would stand, we two, 

On a bough of the tree ; 

You 'd wink at me. 

And I 'd wink at you ; 

That 's what we 'd do, 
Beyond a doubt. 

I 'd give you a rose 
For your lovely nose. 
And you 'd look at me 

Without turning about. 
I know what we 'd do 
(That is, I and you) ; 
Why, you 'd sing to me, 
And I 'd sing to you ; 
• That 's what we 'd do. 

When the moon came out. 



THAT'S WHAl iVE'D DO. 



51 




" I 'd give you a rose. 



5^ RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

Holloa ! 

What's the matter? 
Why this bustle, 

Noise and clatter ? 
Mercy on us ! 

Don't you know 
Little Pipkin's 

Stubbed his toe ! 

What 's that ? 

Some one knocks. 
How the wind 

Shakes the locks ! 
Run, quick ! 

How absurd — 
Only a beggar, 

Upon my word ! 



A RIDDLE. 



Johnny looked down in the spring, one night, 

And saw, reflected, a dipper ; 
The handle crooked, the bottom out. 

Yet floating as trim as a clipper. 
It was n't broken ; 't was good as new ; 
Yes, fit for a monarch's daughter. 
'*Ho ! you 're a funny old dipper ! " said John ; 
"You can't hold a drop of water." 



OLD SiMON, 



53 




c 



OLD SIMON. 

Old Simon and his boys were glad, 

To take the plainest fare ; 
They brightened everything they had, 

With gratitude and prayer. 



* Give thanks," said Simon, "when ye rise,. 

Give thanks when day is done." 
And none than Simon were more wise. 

Or happy, under the sun. 



54 



RHYMES AND JINGLES, 



WAKE UP, BIRDIE! 

Birdie with the folded wing, 
Shall we never hear you sing? 
Sleepy birdie, wake up quick ! 
Pretty birdie, are you sick? 
Birdie, birdie ! are you dead ? 
Birdie, birdie ! lift your head ! 
Lift your head, and show your beak. 
Naughty birdie ! won't you speak ? 
Here is water for your cup ; 
Here is sugar — eat it up: 
Here is sunshine warm and bright — 
Now he sings with all his might ! 




THE DIFFERENCE. 



55 



THE DIFFERENCE. 




THE SOUR OLD LADY. 



There was an old lady all dressed in silk, 
Who lived upon lemons and buttermilk ; 
And, thinking this world was a sour old place, 
She carried its acid all over her face ; 



56 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




THE OLD LADY WHO LIVED ON MATCHES. 

Another old lady, all dressed in patches, 
Lived upon nothing but Lucifer matches ; 
So the world, it made her strangle and cough. 
And sure as you rubbed her you set her off. 



Another old lady, all sunny and neat, 
Who lived upon sugar, and every thing sweet ; 
Declared, when she heard of their troubles, she "never!' 
For the world was so nice she could live on forever. 



THE MORAL. 



S7 




lllli SUNNY OLD LADY. 



Now, children take your choice 

Of the food your hearts shall eat ; 
There are sourish thoughts, and brimstone thoughts, 

And thoughts all good and sweet ; 



And whatever the heart feeds on. 
Dear children, trust to me, 

Is precisely what this queer old world 
Will seem to you to be. 



ss 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



BILLY BOY. 




Poor Billy boy was music mad, 

Oh music mad was he ; 
And yet he was as blithe a lad 
As any lad could be — 
With a hi-de-diddle, 
Bow and fiddle, 
Rig-a-my, ho ! sang he — 



BILLY BOY. 59 

For Billy was as blithe a lad 
As any lad could be. 

Nobody knows the joy I know, 

Or sees the sights I see, 
So play me high, or play me low. 

My fiddle's enough for me. 
It takes me here, it takes me there — 

So play me low or high — 
It finds me, binds me anywhere, 

And Hfts me to the sky." 
With a hi-de-diddle. 
Bow and fiddle, 

Rig-a-my, ho ! sang he — 
For Billy was as blithe a lad 

As any lad could be. 




6o RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

CHRISTMAS BELLS. 

One Christmas Eve a little maid 

Into a fire-lit parlor strayed ; 

And there on a chair lay the pretty song 

Her sister had sung her, — Dingle-dong ! 

That rang like Christmas bells. 

Dingle, dingle, ting, dong ! 
So sweet and clear, so warm and strong 

Dingle, dingle, ting, dong ! 

Merry Christmas bells. 

"I'll play it!" said the little maid; 
•' The blaze is bright, I 'm not afraid ! 
I'll play it on the chair, and sing." 
So down she sat, and dingle, ting, 
The ready Christmas bells. 
Dingle, dingle, ting, dong ! 
Sounded forth so sweet and long, — 
Dingle, dingle, ting, dong ! 
Happy Christmas bells. 

"It's darker!" thought the little maid; 
" But never mind, I'm not afraid ! 
For Jesus once, in Galilee, 
Was just a little child like me. 

He loves the Christmas bells." 
Dingle, dingle, ting, dong ! 
O baby voice ! so sweet and strong ! 
Dingle, dingle, ting, dong 1 
Holy Christmas bells ! 



CHRISTMAS BELLS. 




'"I'LL PI.AY it!' SATP the I.TTTLE MM}). 



62 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



SHEPHERD JOHN. 




Oh ! Shepherd John is good and kind. 
Oh ! Shepherd John is brave ; 

He loves the weakest of his flock, 
His arm is quick to save. 



But Shepherd John to little John 
Says : " Learn, my laddie, learn ! 

In grassy nooks still read your bookS; 
And aye for knowledge burn, 



SHEPHERD JOHN. 



63 



Read while you tend the grazing flock 

Had I but loved my book, 
I'd not be still in shepherd's frock, 

Nor bearing shepherd's crook. 

The world is wide, the world is fair, 
There 's muckle work to do. 

I'll rest content a shepherd still, 
But grander fields for you ! " 




RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



MY WEEK. 





On Monday I wash my dollies' clothes, 
On Tuesday smoothly press 'em ; 

On Wednesday mend their little hose, 
On Thursday neatly dress 'em. 





A/V WEEK. 



65 



On Friaay 1 play they're taken ill, 
On Saturday something or other ; 




laiglkl^ 




But when Sunday comes, I say, " Lie still 
I'm going to church with mother." 




66 



RHYMES AND jiNGLES, 



BABY IN DREAMLAND. 




Baby's dreams are very bright, 
Though they come at dead of night, 

When the house is still ; 
For a moonbeam comes to take her 
Where the sweetest sounds shall Vv^ake her, 

Where she'll play at will. 

In the dreamland, far away, 
There do sleeping babies play, 

There they laugh and walk. 
All the day their speech is gone - 
Not a foot to stand upon — 

There they leap and talk. 



There the pretty candle-blaze, 
When they clutch it, brightly stays ; 



^ABY IN DREAMLAND. 6;^ 

There the stars so grand 
Come to meet the outstretched arm, 
Leap all sparkling to the palm 

Of the little hand. 

But in all that wondrous place, 
Still is smiling, mother's face ; 

Mother s touch is there ; 
And like music sweet and low. 
Though the baby does not know, 

Breathes the mother's prayer 

So the baby laughs and plays 
Through the happy dreamland ways 

(Close to heaven, maybe), 
Till the merry sunbeams take her 
To her bed, and gently wake her, 

— Now, come see to Baby ! 




t>S RHYMRS AND yiNGLKS. 



LULU'S BIRTHDAY. 

Lulu's Birthday — very queer ! 

Comes to her but once a year ; 
Comes when Winter snows are faUing, 
Comes when Ocean winds are squalHng, 
Comes when Nature's quite appalHng, — ■ 

Every thing so cold and drear. 

Lulu's Birthday — stranger still ! 

Has to climb to her up hill ; 
For the maiden is so knowing, 
That she spends her time in growing, 
Every year some change is showing, — 

Growing head, and heart, and will. 

Lulu's Birthday — it is clear — 

Likes to meet her every year ; 
Likes to follow Lulu's scorning. 
So, with fairest flowers adorning 

All the home, we give it cheer. 
And with prayer and watchful loving, 
Though the little maid keep moving, 

And the time be cold and drear, 
Sure as comes the Birthday morning, 

We shall try to have her here. 



THE STAR FAMILY. 




The Moon went up to the twinkling sky, 
To see what the stars were about : 
"Fair Night," quoth she, ''are the family in ?" 
"Oh! no, they are every one out." 



70 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



As I was a-going to market, 

I met a man with a goose. 
Says he : " Big boots with a boy ! 

I guess you came from Toulouse." 
Says I : " Little goose with a man ! 

How did you leave your mother } 
I guess you just came from home, 

For I see you've brought your brother. 



TWO LITTLE FROGGIES. 




Two little froggies they sighed to one another 
" Our puddle is all liquor and no meat. 



TIVO LITTLE FROGGIES 



71 




Let us sit upon the bank, where the lovely mud is 
shining, 
And maybe we '11 see something good to eat." 



Forty little ants said gayly to their mother : 
"O mother! we are going to the bogs;" 

But the forty little ants never dreamed that they 
were going 
Just to make a dainty dinner for the frogs. 



n 



IkK \ MES AND JINGLES, 



ONE AND ONE. 

wo little girls are better than one 
Two little boys can double the fun, 
Two little birds can build a fine 

nest, 
Two little arms can love mother 

best. 
Two little ponies must go to a 

span ; 
Two little pockets has my little 

man ; 
Two little eyes to open and close, 
Two little ears and one little nose, 
Two little elbows, dimpled and 

sweet, 
Two little shoes on two little feet. 
Two little lips and one little chin, 
Two little cheeks with a rose shut 

in ; 
Two little shoulders, chubby and 
strong, 
Two little legs running all day long. 
Two little prayers does my darling say. 
Twice does he kneel by my side each day, — 
Two little folded hands, soft and brown. 
Two little eyelids cast meekly down, — 
And two little angels guard him in bed, 
One at the foot, and one at the head." 




BIRDIES AND BABIES. 



n 



Birdies with broken wings, 
Hide from each other; 

But babies in trouble, 

Can run home to mothen 







74 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



WILLIE'S LODGER. 

Two little boys, named Willie, 

Live in the house with me. 
One is as good a darling 

As ever I wish to see ; 
His eyes are glad, his smile is sweet, 
His voice is kind, his dress is neat, 

And he is the boy for me. 

This Willie says, " Good morning ! " 

Happy as any bird ; 
A merrier laugh, a lighter step. 

No mortal ever heard. 
Thank you," he says, and " If you please V 
He will not pout, he will not tease — 

Oh ! he is the boy for me ! 

The other Willie, sad to say, 

Is very, very bad ; 
I think he is as cross a child 

As ever a mother had. 
' Go 'way ! " he shrieks. He squalls and crieSj 
The angry tears oft fill his eyes — 

He is not the boy for me. 

He lingers round my Willie, 

And whispers evil things — 
Oh ! how we dread him ! for we know 

The sin and grief he brings ! 



WILLIE'S LODGER, 75 

Who keeps him, then ? Why, Willie's self ; 
He keeps this wicked Willie-elf 
Who is not the boy for me. 

If I were you, my Willie, 

I 'd make him stay away, — 
This boy who grieves your mother 

And spoils your brightest day, — 
For he lives in you where he does n't belong \ 
So oust him, WilUe ! Send him along ! 
'Clear out!" I'd say, "old Fume and Fret! 
This heart of mine is not to let, — 

You're not the boy for me." 




76 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



Four little piggies, bound for a frolic, 

Ate green apples till one got the colic. 

One was so greedy he stuffed his maw ; 

One munched so hard that he cracked his jaw. 

One had the toothache and could n't chew a bit, 

So he swallowed them whole and died in a fit. 




Spinning your top. 

Don't let it flop, boys ; 



ROLLING YOUR HOOP. 



77 













Flying your kite, 

Pull with your might, boys. 
Rolling your hoop, 

Never you stoop, boys ; 
Either stand still, 

Or play with a will 



7S RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



GOOD-MORNING. 

Good morning, mamma ! Good-morning, 

bright sun ! 
Good-morning, papa ! The day is begun. 
Good-morning to every one, pussy as well : 
Does he sleep like the rest, till he hears the first 

bell ? 

Good-morning it is, for the sky is all blue, 
The grass is just shining and sparkling with dew ; 
The birdies are singing their merriest song. 
And the air through the window comes sunny 
and strong. 

Good-morning it is, for dark was the night, 
And chilly and still ; but the morning is 

bright. 
If God did not watch us and bring us the day. 
We'd never be able to get up and play. 

Good-morning, new day ! I m glad we 're awake. 
Your work and your sunshine and froUc to 

take ; 
And I'm glad we are able so gayly to call 
Good-morning ! good-morning ! Good morning to 

all! 



LADY-BIRD AND DADDY LONGLEGS. 



79 




LADY-BIRD AND DADDY LONGLEGS. 

Lady-Bird, in gown so gay, 
Came creeping from the clover ; 

Daddy Longlegs went that way. 
And nearly knocked her over. 



" I '11 tell my ant ! " she cried out quick- 

" It beats the bugs ! " said he. 
*' A tad-/^/^ for your walking stick 
Would suit you well," said she. 



8o 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 
WOULDN'T AND WOULD. 








I would n't be a growler, I would n't be a bear ^ 
I would n't be an owlet, always on a stare ; 





T would n't be a monkey, doing foolish tricks ; 
I would n't be a donkey, full of sullen kicks. 




WOULDN'T AND WOULD. 

I would n't be a goose, 

Nor a peacock full of pride, 

1^1 it I would be a big boy, 
With a pocket on each side. 




6. 



RHYAfES AND JINGLE^. 




NELL AND HER BIRD. 

GooD-BY, little birdie ! 

Fly to the sky, 
Singing and singing 

A merry good-by. 



Tell all the birdies, 
Flying above, 



NELL AND HER BLRD. 83 

Nell, in the garden, 
Sends them her love. 

Tell how I found you, 

Hurt, in a tree ; 
Then, when they're wounded. 

They '11 come right to me. 

I 'd like to go with you 

If I could fly ; 
It must be so beautiful 

Up in the sky ! 

Why, little birdie! 

Why don't you go } 
You sit on my finger, 

And shake your head, " No ' 

He's off! Oh! how quickly 

And gladly he rose! 
I know he will love me 

Wherever he goes. 

I know — for he really 

Seemed trying to say, 
My dear little Nelly, 



I can't ofo 



t>" 



away. 



But just then some birdies 

Came flying along, 
And sang as they neared us 

A chirruping song ; 



§4 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

And he felt just as I do 
When girls come and shout 

Right under the window, 
" Come, Nelly ! come out ! " 

It 's wrong to be sorry ; 

I ought to be glad ; 
But he's the best birdie 

That ever I had. 



\ 



I 



There was an old weclher-vane high on a shed, 
The wind came a courting and turned his head ; 
And all it could utter for lack of mouth 
Was — East, and West, and North, and South. 



Dumpy Dicky said, " I can't ; " 
Joe said, '' By and by ; " 

Grumpy Jacky said, " I shan't ; " 
Tommy said. "I'll try." 



THE CAT AND THE CONCERT. 



85 




Have you heard the news, good neighbor?' 
" No. What is the news, I pray ? " 

Why the cat went down to a concert 
And frightened the music away. 






/x*,-^ ^^ 



m 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




THE NEW SLATE. 8; 



THE NEW SLATE. 

See my slate ! I dot it new, 
Tos I b'oke the other, 

Put my 'ittle foot right froo. 
Running after mother. 

I tan make you lots o' sings. 
Pass as you tan tell 'em, 

T's and B's and big O rings. 
Only I tan't spell 'em. 

I tan make a funny pig 

Wid a turly tail-y, 
'Ittle eyes, and snout so big 

Pokin' in a pail-y. 

I tan make a elephant, 
Wid his trunk a-hangin' ; 

An* a boy — who says I tan't.? 
Wid his dun a-bangin'. 

An' the smoke a-tummin' out 
(Wid my t'umb I do it, 

Rubbin' all the white about). 
Sparks a-flyin' froo \X 

I tan make a bu-ful house 
Wid a tree behind it, 



RHYMES AND yiNGLES. 

An' a 'ittle mousy-mouse 
Runnin' round to find it. 

I tan put my hand out flat 
On the slate, and draw it 

(Tickhn' is the worst of that) ! 
Did you ever saw it ? 

I tan do me runnin' 'bout — 
Mamma's 'ittle posset 

(Slate's so dusty, rubbin' out, 
Dess oo'd better wass it). 

Now, then, s'all I make a tree 

Wid a birdie in it ? 
All my picsurs you s'all see 

If you'll wait a minute. 

No, I dess I '11 make a man 
Juss like Uncle Roily. 

See it tummin', fass 's it tan ? 
Bet my slate is jolly! 




LITTLE POT SOON HOT. 



LITTLE POT SOON HOT. 



89 




Fume and fury ! I have cause 
To tear about and break the laws. 

But, on the whole, I'd better not; 
" Little pots are soon hot." 

Little souls slights discover ; 
Big souls pass 'em over. 

Big souls bear their trouble; 
Little souls sizz and bubble. 

Little souls oft ferment ; 
Big souls are content. 

Big souls tumble slowly ; 
Little souls — roly poly ! 

Big souls, like as not, 
When it's fitting, do get hot. 

But "little pots" all grandeur spoil. 
I'll think a bit before I boil! 



90 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



NELL'S NOTIONS. 

Three-year-old Nell by the window-pane stood, 
A good little girl, and as pretty as good, 
Watching the snow come down — 
Falling so lightly, 
So swiftly and brightly, 
It whitened all the town. 



''See, Aunty!" she cried, in a joyous strain, 
" Oh, Aunty, look out ! and see the popped rain ! 
The air is as full as can be ; 
And it never stops, 
But it jumps and hops. 
Like the corn that you pop for me." 

Winter passed on ; and Spring-time was here — 
Spring with its flowers, its brightness and cheer. 
And the birds were wild with song. 
Ah, sweet was the note 
From each tiny throat! 
Nell listened the whole day long. 

Tell me, dear Aunty, what do they eat, 
These dear little birds, that they sing so sweet ? " 
Nell asked, in her wonder and glee. 
" Oh, Aunty, / think 
They have sky to drink, 
And flowers for their breakfast and tea," 



NEVER A NIGHT. 9I 

The quick, green-winged katydids filled her with awe, 
Such wonderful creatures she 'd ne'er seen before ; 
For hours she would question and tease, 
Till, "They're leaves!" she said, 
" With legs and a head. 
And they 're huntin' about for their trees. 

"Why, Aunty, hold still ! there's a girl in your eyes!" 
And queer little Nell fairly screamed with surprise. 
" Why, Aunty, it 's Nell in there ! 
I can see it as plain — 
There ! I see it again I 
Why, you 're full of me everywhere ! " 



Whether fair, whether foul, 

Be it wet or dry, 
Cloudy time or shiny time 

The sun 's in the sky. 
Gloomy-night, sparkle-night, 

Be it glad or dread. 
Cloudy time or shiny time, 

Stars are overhead. 



92 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




Snow, snow, everywhere ! 
Snow on frozen mountain peak. 
Snow on Flippit's sunny hair. 
Snow flakes melting on his cheek. 
Snow, snow, wherever you go, 
Shifting, drifting, driving snow. 



But Flippit does not care a pin. 
It 's Winter without and Summer within. 
So, tumble the flakes, or rattle the storm, 
He breathes on his fingers and keeps them 
warm. 



A STRANGER IN THE FEPK 93 



Some one we cannot hear, 
Some one we cannot see, 
Shakes the baby, 
Wakes the baby, 
Makes him laugh with glee. 



A STRANGER IN THE PEW. 

Poor little Bessie ! She tossed back her curls, 
And, though she is often the sweetest of girls. 
This was something she could n't and would n't endure ; 
'Twas the meanest, most impolite act, she was sure. 

And a thing, she declared, that s/ie never would do : 
To go to a church where one didn't belong. 
Then walk down the aisle like the best in the throng. 

And seat one's self plump in another one's pew. 

Humph! Didn't her father own his out and out. 
And didn't they fill it up full, just about, 
When Mamma and Papa, and herself and the boys, 
Were seated ? And did n't their boots make a noise 

In moving along to make room for a stranger ? 
And was n't it cool, with the brazenest face, 
To expect at each hymn Pa would find out the plact 
(If Ben did n't, or Bob, but there was n't much danger) ? 



94 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

With such feelings at heart, and their print on her face, 
Last Sunday our Bessie hitched out of her " place " 
To make room for a girl, very shabby and thin, 
Who had stood in the aisle till mamma asked her in. 

The poor little thing tried her best not to crowd 
And Bessie, forgetting, soon had the mishap 
To slip from her drowsiness into a nap. 

From which she soon wakened by crying aloud. 

Poor Bessie sat upright, with cheeks all a-flame 
At sleeping in church, and trembled with shame ; 
But 'twas strange at the close of the service to see 
Our Bessie, now gentle as gentle could be. 

Take the hand of the shabby young girl in the pew, 
And walk with her out of the church with a smile 
That shone through the tears in her eyes all the while. 

And brightened her face with a radiance new. 

" Good-by," whispered Bessie at parting, " and mind 
Our pew 's forty-five, with a pillar behind." 
Then she stole to her mother : " Oh, Mother, I dreamed 
Such a curious dream ! 'Twas no wonder I screamed. 

I thought T was sitting in church in this dress. 
With a girl like a beggar-girl right in our pew — 
We were sitting alone on the seat, just we two — 

And I felt more ashamed than you ever could guess ; 

"When, all in a moment, the music grew loud. 
And on it came floating a beautiful crowd ; 
They were angels, I knew, for they joined in the song, 
And all of them seemed in the church to belong. 



A STRANGER IN THE PEW, 95 

Slowly and brightly they sailed through the air ; 
The rays from the window streamed crimson and blue, 
And lit them in turn as their forms glided through ; — 

I could feel their soft robes passing over my hair. 

" One came to my side. Very sadly she said, 
' There 's a stranger in here.' I lifted my head, 
And looked at the poor shabby girl with disdain. 
' Tis not she,' said the angel ; ' the haughty and vain 

Are the strangers at church. She is humble and true.' 
Then I cried out aloud, and the minister spoke, 
And just as they floated away I awoke, 

And there sat that dear little girl in our pew!" 




96 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



THE QUEEN O' MAY. 

The Queen o' May 
Held court one day, — 
The fields had nought to give her ; 
All in their best 
Her maids were drest, 
And they began to shiver. 

"The Queen — sweet lass: 
Said : " Search the grass, 
And look for daisies growing ; 
You'll find the air 
Quite soft and fair, 
Unless it fall a-snowing." 

"Quite soft!" they said, 
Each loyal maid. 
"So fair!" the boys went chaffing; 
But soon the May 
Came down that way. 
And set them all a-laughing. 



THE QUEEN 0' MA Y. 



97 




9^ RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



PUSSY'S CLASS. 

"Now children," said Puss, as she shook her head, 
"It is time your morning lesson was said:" 
So her kittens drew near with footsteps slow, 
And sat down before her, all in a row. 

"Attention, class!" said the cat-mamma, 

"And tell me quick where your noses are." 
At this all the kittens sniffed the air 

As though it were filled with a perfume rare. 

" Now what do you say when you want a drink } " 
The kittens waited a moment to think, 
And then the answer came clear and loud — 

You ought to have heard how those kittens meow'd ! 

"Very well. 'Tis the same, with a sharper tone. 
When you want a fish or a bit of bone. 
Now what do you say when children are good } " 
And the kittens purred as soft as they could. 

" And what do you do when children are bad } 

When they tease and pull V each kitty looked sad. 

"Pooh!" said their mother, "that isn't enough; 

You must use your claws when children are rough ! " 

"And where are your claws.'* no, no, my dear, 

(As she took up a paw) see ! they're hidden here:" 
Then all the kittens crowded about 

To see their sharp little claws brought out. 



Pl7SSy'S CLASS. 



^ 




They felt quite sure they never should need 
To use such weapons — oh, no, indeed ! 

But their wise mamma gave a pussy's ''pshaw!'' 
And boxed their ears with her softest paw. 

"Now 'Stpisss!' as hard as you can," she said — 
But every kitten hung down its head — 

" Stpisss ! I say," cried the mother cat. 

But they said, " O mammy we can't do that !" 

" Then go and play, " said the fond mamma ; 
" What sweet little idiots kittens are ! 
Ah well, I was once the same, I suppose" — 
And she looked very wise and rubbed her nose. 



l.pfC 



TOO RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




TwiSTAN TuRNEM, let me see, 
Which is the way to Tweedle-dee ? 
Why, turn about the way you 've come 
And take the road to Tweedle-dum. 



WANDERING JOE. 

Tell me, O wandering Joe ! 
How many miles did you go? 
Why, one to my mother's, 
And three to my brother's, 
And just half a dozen 
To hunt up a cousin ; 
And half a mile yonder 
A hen-roost to plunder; 
And three half miles back 
To cover the track. 



CLOUDY TIME OR SHINY TIME. 101 

Then a half and a half 

To water the calf, 

And a half and a quarter 

Before I found water ; 

Add a quarter to that, 

When I chased a black bat ; 

Then two to town, 

To see Jim Brown ; 

And two, and none, 

And one for fun, 

And one for luck, 

And one for pluck ; 

And one for trouble, 

And two for double; 

And then 'twas best 

To sit and rest. 

And now, my friend, says Joe, 

How many miles did I go ? 



Never a night so dark and drear. 
Never a cruel wind so chill, 

But loving hearts can make it clear, 
And find some comfort in it still. 



02 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




THE RATS. 

When I 'm sitting 
At my knitting 
After tea — 
Deary me ! 
Such commotion, 
Land o' Goshen i 
And it's all 
In the wall. 



Rumble, tumble, 
Flurry, scurry. 
Now a rushing, 
And a crushing ; 



THE RATS. 



lO) 



Now a rattle, 
And a battle; 
Now a squeak 
And a fall 

So I sit 

And I knit ; 

And I ponder 

And wonder, 

And scarcely know how, 

In the racket and row, 

My wits to recall. 

But the clatter, 
For that matter. 
And the rumble 
And tumble 
And scratching 
And catching 
Keep on 
Through it all. 





Rats in dozens, 
With their cousins. 
Or in droves, 
With their loves : 
Now it's raps. 
Now it 's taps, 
Or it 's crunching. 
Or munching ; 
Or a creak, 
Or a shriek ; 




104 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



If I knew 
What to do, 
Or you'd show 
Where to go, 
I 'd be off 
Like a streak. 




But no, I must stay 
While they clamor away. 
Traps, cats, 
Sticks or rats- 
Bane or gun, 
It 's all one. 
No, it 's fudge. 
They won't budge ! 




THE RATS. 



105 



Rat are rats, 
Spite of cats 
And the rest. 
But — my star! — 
Beginning or end 
Or middle, depend 
The things are a pest; 
And they're all 
In the wall. 
So they are ! 




io6 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



IN THE WOOD. 




" What says the book, my lassie ? 
What says the book to thee ? " 
" It says the wood is beautiful, 
The blossoms fair to see ; 
It says the brook tells merrily 

A little tale of glee, 
And birds, brimful of melody, 
Do sing their songs for me." 



IN THE WOOD. 107 

"Then close the page, my lassie, 

And lift thy pretty head, 
And what the book would say to thee 

The wood shall say instead. 
The brook shall tell its merry tale, 

The flowers their brightness shed, 
And the birds shall sing — for life is hfe, 

And printed words are dead. 

" Hear what the bird sings, lassie : 

'O little lady fair! 
The breath of flowers is over thee, 

The sunlight in thy hair ; 
The heart of a little maiden 

Is free as birds in the air — 
And God is good to thee and me, 

O little lady fair!'" 



I08 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



COMB MUSIC. 

Two children once sat in the twilight gray 
Playing a tune in a comical way ; 
They both pressed a comb to their rosy red lips, 
And little they cared for tickles and slips, 
For wheezings, and paper that always would fall, 
For oh ! such loud music, or no note at all. 
'Twas sweet to their ears, as fondly they heard 
This musical strain coming forth, word for word : 
" W-Ji-h-woviey w-h-h-woine, szzzeeet, zJiJiweet zomCy 
Bheet wev zo hhmnble^ therzzz nho blazzze Hew 
zhhome ! " 

Now they are grown, and sing in the choir 

Of their own village church with the beautiful spire ; 

So sweet are her notes, so perfect her skill, 

Not a bird of the air but might envy her trill. 

Not a wind of the night but right gladly would know 

How to make his rich music so plaintive and low. 

Together their voices in harmony blend. 
And steep all their days in a joy without end ; 
And yet in their hearts they have always confessed 
That lovely duet long ago was the best. 
When they tingled their lips at the musical comb. 
And told all the world there was " zno blaizzz Hew 
zhome." 



COMB MUSIC. 



109 




no RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



IN THE BASKET. 

Say, do you hear my basket 
Go " kippy ! kippy ! pe-ek" ? 

Maybe my funny basket 
Is learning how to speak. 

If you want to know the secret, 

Go ask the speckled hen, 
And tell her when I 've warmed them 

I '11 bring them back again. 



COMING. 



Two fair ships are sailing, 

Sailing over the sea, — 
Willies ship and my ship — 

Full as full can be ; 
Side by side, my Willie says, 

Like as pin to pin. 
Oh, the happy, happy days 

When our ships come in ! 



COMING. 



Til 



While our ships are saiHng, 

Saihng over the sea, — 
Willie's ship and my ship, — 

Full as full can be. 
Sailing on the sunny tide. 

Grieving would be sin : 
Soon or late, and side by side, 

Shall our ships come in. 




112 



RHYMES AND JINGLES, 




THE DAINTY MISS ROSE. 

Oh, a perfect nose, 

And dainty toes, 
And woolen hose, 

Had Miss Rose! 

A dog was she of high degree, 

Born of an ancient family. 
From her mother's side 

Came her Spanish pride ; 
She had royal ways, 

And her pedigree reckoned 
From the glorious days 

Of Qharles the Second ! 



Well, she needed an escort 
To a party of some sort. 



THE DAINTY MISS ROSE, \\% 

One evening in May. 

And to see her bother 
Twixt one dog and t'other, 

Was good as a play. 

Many pups came to say 

They would be at her service, 
But she sent them away 

With a manner quite nervous. 
In fact, I must own, 

Of dogs fully grown. 
She snubbed them by name 

As fast as they came : 
Sir Rover was coarse, 

And Ponto was cruel ; 
Old Bounce was a horse. 

Young Pip lived on gruel ; 
Spitz was a sneak, 

Fido was surly ; 
Pomp was too sleek. 

Carlo too curly ; 
Even elegant Pap, 

Who wore a gold collar, 
She said, with a snap, 

Wasn't worth a lead dollar. 

Then came a brave wight 

For a desperate pull ; 
He had been in a fight, 

Old Major de Bull. 
He was cross as a bear. 

And scanty of hair. 



114 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

Also young Isle of Skye, 
Rather down at the heel ; 

And the well-mannered Guy, 
Who was sour, but genteel 




But dainty Miss Rose 

Still tossed up her nose — 

She ought n't, she could n't, 
She would n't, she should n't 

With one of them go, 

She'd thank 'em to know. 



By this time it was growing late. 
And dainty Rose bemoaned her fate ; 
When, in the sky, there sprang in sight 
A throbbing, sparkling thing of light. 
^What's that," she cried, "I see afar?" 
And Guy replied, "The great Dog Star 



THE DArNTY MISS ROSE. 



lit; 



Too Sirius, dear, for such as you, 

And very much above you, too." 
" Not so, indeed ! " cried dainty Rose, 

No longer tossing up her nose. 
** Now, I am matched at last, you see, 

The Dog Star shall my escort be ! " 

Then off she started, quite content. 
And gallantly the Dog Star went. 
For all the way he kept in sight. 
And held her in his tender light. 
Guiding her steps with steady rays. 
And blinking when he met her gaze. 



Poor little mousie, what a mishap ! 
Why did you put your nose in the trap? 
Hold still, mousie, and trust to me — 
I '11 touch the spring, and set you free ! 




ti6 



KHYMES AND JINGLES. 




WAITING FOR FATHER. Wj 



WAITING FOR FATHER. 

In the gray of the twihght and glow of the fire, 

A Httle girl sat on the rug. 
She was warming a slipper; and pussy sat nigh her, 

And also her friend, Mr. Pug. 
And the song in the heart of the glad little girl, 
As the light of the fire played over each curl, 

Was, ** Father is coming — hurrah! hurrah! 

Father is coming — hurrah ! " 

She had spread out his soft woolen gown on the chair, 

With its facings of beautiful blue ; 
Had picked up her playthings that lay here and there, 

And arranged things as well as she knew. 
" For the room must be tidy and pretty and bright," 
She said to herself, " when he comes, every night, 

And soon he is comins: — hurrah ! hurrah ! 

Father is coming — hurrah ! " 

How rosy her cheeks, and how sparkling her eyes ! 

How dimpled her soft Uttle hand ! 
While Pussy and Pug look as solemn and wise 

As if the whole scene they had planned. 
But you never would think, so demure are the three. 
That the little maid 's heart could be singing with glee^ 
"Father is coming — hurrah! hurrah! 
Father is coming — hurrah!" 



Il8 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

The sunlight has vanished, and bleak is the street, 
And beggars are dreading the night. 

The pavement is noisy with home-speeding feet. 
And only the windows are bright ; 

When quickly the little maid springs from the rug, 

Leaving Pussy half sleeping, but followed by Pug ; 

" Father is coming — hurrah ! hurrah ! 
Father is coming — hurrah!" 



WHAT SHALL I BUY?i 

" I 'vE got a penny, 
What shall I buy ? 
I '11 buy a — whistle. 
That 's what I '11 buy. 

I 've got two pence, 

What shall I buy ? 
I'll buy a — pop-gun, 

That 's what I '11 buy. 

I 've got three pence, 

What shall I buy? 
I'll buy a — horsey, 

That's what I'll buy. 

1 The charm of this thrilling ditty lies in allowing baby to suggest the 
last word of the third lines. 



RUT-A-TUT-TUrS. 



tio 




RUT-A-TUT-TUTS ! 

Who can crack nuts ? 
Squirrels, can you ? 
' That we can, true — 
Rut-a-tut-tuts, 
We can crack nuts ! " 



Chicketty-chack, 

Cracketty-crack. 

Pooh ! " said the hammer, 

Silence your clamor, 

Rut-a-tut-tuts — 

Who can't crack nuts ? '' 



t20 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



HALLOO, OLD SCUTTLE! 

Halloo, old scuttle! good old soul, 

What 's become of all your coal ? 

Why the tongs he came with a gobbledy-gun, 

And took my coals out, one by one ; 

And the blaze ran in with a tricksy-spire 

And set the pretty things a-fire ; 

And the blower came with a roaring-^roar. 

And made them burn up more and more ; • 

And then the poker with koppitty-hop, 

He poked their ashes and made 'em drop — 

And that, O Gobbledy-Koppitty-dole ! 

Is what 's become of all my coal." 



OH, NO! 



If blue-birds bloomed like flowers in a row. 

And never could make a sound. 
How would the daisies and violets know 

When to come out of the ground ! 
They would wait and wait the seasons round ; 

Never a flower could on earth be found. 



OH, NO/ 



121 



And what would birds and butterflies do 
If the flowers had wings to fly ? 

Why, birds and blossoms, and butterflies too, 
Would stay far up in the sky ; 

And then the people would droop and sigh, 
And all the children on earth would cry. 



r 







--i^\^ 



122 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



/ THE SAND MAN. 

Oho! but he travels the country over, 
The queer Uttle, kind Uttle, elfish rover! 
Lightly he bears in his tricksome hand 
A silvery horn full of sleepy sand, 
Shaking it here, and shaking it there, 
Till the blossoms nod in the drowsy air ; 
Till the sunlight creeps up hill to bed. 
Or slips through the sky where clouds are red 
Till the lambkins bleat a soft " good-night ! " 
And birds grow still in the tree-tops bright, 
While sweet little eyelids, all over the land, 
Droop with the weight of the silvery sand. 

Oho ! Oho ! where the Sand Man goes 
Every one wonders and nobody knows ; 
For just when the right time comes to peep. 
Little and big are falling asleep. 
He steals to the cradles, the cribs, the beds, 
And sprinkles his sand over children's heads, 
Till bright little faces lie warm and still. 
Smiling or grave, at the Sand Man's will. 
He catches them often at full mid-day, 
And bids them stop in their merry play — 
With a " Ho ! my darling," " Hi ! my dear," 
" I '11 sing a dream-song into your ear." 



THE SAND MAN. 



123 




Some on the carpet, some on the chairs, 
Some curled up on the nursery stairs ; 
Some in the grass where the shadows play, 
Some hidden deep in the fragrant hay, 
And some who, folded in mother's embrace. 
Float in a iuliaby, pressing her face. 
Oho! but he travels the country over. 
The queer little, kind little, elfish rover! 
And whence he comes, and whither he goes, 
Every one wonders, and nobody knows ; 
For just when the right time comes to peep, 
All the children are falling asleep. 



124 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




TROUBLE IN THE GREENHOUSE. 125 



TROUBLE IN THE GREENHOUSE. 

Three big cats in 2. greenhouse. 

Oh ! they look so meek, 

So sage and sleek, 

That but for the clash 

And the sudden crash, 

And the broken pots 

Of forget-me-nots. 

And upset roses, 

And dingy noses, 

And draggled vines, 

And tangled twines, 

And broken pink. 

You 'd never think 

What a fearful fuss 

And hopeless muss 

Could be made in a hurry 

And velvet flurry 

By three meek cats in a greenhouse. 



126 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



TEN KINDS. 




Winnie Whiney, all things grieve her ; 
Fannie Fibber, who'd believe her? 
Lotty Loozem, late to school, sir; 
Albert Allplay, quite a fool, sir ; 
Kittv Kissem, loved bv many, 
Georgy Grump. not loved by any. 
Ralphy Ruff- beware his fist; siri 
Tiiiie Tattle, like a blister, 
Gus Goodaction, bright and cheery? 
Sammy Selfish, sour and dreary. 
Do you know them, as I've sung thens? 
Easy 'tis to choose among them, 



HAVE YOU APPLES? 



127 




" Have you apples, good grocer ? 

" O yes, ma'am, how many ? ' 
" How do you sell them. Sir ? " 

" Two for a penny." 



" I '11 have two, Mr. Grocer, 
They 're good for my baby ; 
Send 'em home in an hour. Sir' 
"That I will, lady.' 



128 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



There was an old woman of Wigg, 
Who fattened her favorite pig. 
" I '11 eat him," she said, 
" From his tail to his head " — 
This greedy old wonian of Wigg. 




There was a brave knight of Lorraine; 
Who hated to give people pain. 
" I '11 skeer them," he said, 
"But won't kill 'em dead" — 

This noble young knight of Lorraine. 



THE OLD DOCTOR OF BRILLE. 



129 




There was an old doctor of Brille, 
Who gave all his patients a pill. 
^'* It will cure 'em," he said, 
Or else kill 'em dead " — 
This skillful old doctor of Brille. 
9 



t^o 



RHYMES AMD JINGLES. 



FAIRY TALES. 

"'Et me see," thought little May, 
Waking from her slumber, 



^>^^ 




..M^^^^^ 



" How many 'tories do I know ? 
Oh, a mons'rous number ! 
First Cin rella with her shoe, 
All d'essed up so sp'ended ; 
"'Es, an' naughty B'ue Beard too, 
Always gettin' 'fended ; 
'Fended with his wives he was, 
All account of keys. 



FAIRY TALES. l^] 

Then a-comin' back to say 

'Die Ma'am! on your knees!' 
Oh my ! if she had n't had 

Her faithful sister Ann, 
No one ever would have come 

To kill that wicked man ! 

Then the Bean-stalk — that was nice ? 

Wis' I 'd one this minute, 
Guess, though, I 'd be most af 'aid- 
Might be giants in it. 
Wonder if I was to be 

Jack the Giant-killer 
Nursey'd be af'aid o' me? 

Why, I wouldn't kill her! 
Not unless she combed too hard — 

Then I 'd shake my axe 
Jus' a 'ittle — wis' I had 

A real one jus' like Jack's. 
Wis' I had a pair o' boots 

Like Puss, who went a-walkin' I 
Wis' I had a Pussy too, 

Sittin' up a-talkin'. 
I would n't like to go get lost 

Like 'ittle Hop my T'umb 
'Way 'n the forest (don't I wish 

My mamma 'd only come !) 
A'most makes me feel af'aid 

T'inkin' 'bout 'em now ; 
Gettin' lef that way I t'ink 

Was dreffle, any how ; — 



32 



kHYMES AND JINGLES. 



But, oh, the chil'ren in the wood, 
They must have been so f'ightened 







A-hst'nin, to the t'under, or 
A-watchin' when it Hghten'd. 

Don't see why they did n't go ; 
Maybe, though, they could n't — 



GOOD NIGHT! 133 

My Uncle would n't t'eat me so, 

Uncle Rodney would n't. 
Maybe in the mornin', too, 

They heard a lion roarin' — 
Here comes Nursey ! now I '11 play 

I 'm fast as'eep, a-snorin'. 



GOOD NIGHT! 

What do I see in Baby's eyes 

So bright ? 
I see the blue, I see a spark, 
I see a twinkle in the dark 

Of light. 

What do I see in Baby's eyes 

Shut tight? 
The blue is gone, the light is hid 
I '11 lay a soft kiss on each lid. 

Good night ! 



KITTENS. 



A BLACK-NOSED kitten will slumber all the day; 
A white-nosed kitten is ever glad to play ; 
A yellow-nosed kitten will answer to your call; 
And a gray-nosed kitten I would n't have at all ! 



t34 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



RESOLUTION. 

If you've any task to do, 

Let me whisper, friend, to you, 

Do it. 

If you 've any thing to say, 
True and needed, yea or nay. 

Say it. 

If you Ve any thing to love. 
As a Dlessing from above, 

Love it. 

If you Ve any thing to give, 
That another's joy may Hve, 

Give it. 

If some hollow creed you doubt. 
Though the whole world hoot and shout, 

Doubt it. 

If you know what torch to light. 
Guiding others through the night. 

Light it. 

If you Ve any debt to pay, 
Rest you neither night nor day — 

Pay it. 



RESOLUTION. 



135 



If you Ve any joy to hold, 
Next your heart, lest it grow cold. 

Hold it. 



If you 've any grief to meet, 
At the loving Father's feet. 



Meet it. 



If you Ve given light to see 
What a child of God should be, 

See it. 

Whether life be bright or drear. 
There 's a message, sweet and clear, 
Whispered down to every ear — 

Hear it ! 



»::V 




136 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



WASHING-DAY. 

While mother is tending baby, 

We'll help her all we can, 
For I 'm her little toddlekins. 

And you 're her little man. 
And Nell will bring the basket, 

For she 's the biggest daughter, 
And I'll keep rubbing, rubbing, 

And you '11 pour in the water — 




WA SHING-DA Y. 137 

And now we '11 have to hurry 

Because it's getting late — 
Poor dolly is n't dressed yet, 

But dolly '11 have to wait. 
I '11 pour, and you can rub 'em, 

Whichever you had rather — 
But seems to me, if I keep on, 

We'll get a quicker lather. 
Maybe, when mother sees us 

Takin' so much troubles. 
She'll let us put our pipes in 

And blow it full of bubbles ; 
But now we '11 have to hurry. 

Because it 's getting late — • 
And dolly isn't dressed yet, 

But dolly '11 have to wait. 



13S RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



THE LITTLE MOTE. 

A LITTLE mote lived in a sunbeam, 

And danced in its light all day ; 
But she jumped with surprise one morning, 

At hearing the housemaid say : — 

''Oh, the dust! How it keeps one a-working! 
It settles all over the room — 
And the air is so full, it is folly 
To labor with duster and broom ! " 

"Poor thing!" sighed the mote, "well, I'm sorry 
I think I '11 go hide in her hair — 
I 'm such a wee speck of a dustlet 
She never will know I am there." 



When I was little. 
Thought I was big; 

Now I *m a giant, 
Don't ca^-e a fig. 

When I was nobody. 
Felt quite a chap ; 

Now that I 'm somebody, 
Don't care a snap. 



GUARDIAN ANGELS. 



39 




What makes baby brave and bright-? 
Angels guard him day and night. 



I40 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



THE ALPHABET. 

Little boys with pockets, 

Little boys with none, 
Little bright-eyed lassies 

Gather, every one ! 
Crowd around me closely. 

Would you master books ? 
You must first discover 

How each letter looks. 

A has a bar 

Where a fairy might ride; 

B is a post 

With two loops at the side. 

O might be round 

If a piece you would lend ; 

D is a buck-saw 
Standing on end. 

E has a peg 

In the middle, they say ; 

F is an E 

With the bottom away. 

Gr is like C, 
With a block on one end ; 

H has a seat 

That would hold you, depend. 



THE ALPHABET. I41 

I is so straight 

It would do for a prop ; 

J is a crook 

With a bar at the top. 

K is a stick 

With a crotch fastened to ii 

L is a roost, 

If the chickens but knew ii 

]V[ has four parts, 

As you quickly may see ; 

N, the poor fellow! 
Is made out of three. 

O is so round 

It would do for a hoop ; 

P is a stick 

With a top like a loop. 

Q to be curly 

Is constantly trying ; 

R is Uke B, 

With the bottom loop flying. 

S is a snake, 

All crooked and dread ; 

T is a pole 
With a bar for a head. 

U it is plain, 

Would make a good swing ; 

V is as sharp 

As a bumble-bee's sting. 



142 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

W* ought 

To be called double-V ; 

X is a cross, 

As you plainly can see ; 

Y is just formed 

Like a V on a stand ; 

Z is the crookedest 
Thing in the land ! 



Early to bed and early to rise : 

If that would make me wealthy and wise 

I 'd rise at daybreak, cold or hot, 

And go back to bed at once. Why not .'' 



THE COOK'S LITTLE BOY. 

A REAL apple-pudding for Mammy and me! 
A-boiling as hard as I ever did see ! 
O Mammy ! I 'm going to jump up and look, 
And tell the old pudding to hurry and cook. 

Is it looking in. Mammy, that hinders the boil } 
Well, I 'd feel very bad for my pudding to spoil ; 
So I '11 cover it up, like a good little son, 
And play on the floor till you tell me it's done. 



THE COOK'S LITTLE BOY. 



143 



There 's the chil'ren up-stairs — they 're dressed up so 

fine, 
But their pudding's no better than Mammy's and mine. 
Oh! isn't it nice when your Mammy's the cook, 
And whenever you want you can cHmb up and look ! 




144 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



HARRY. 

Hurrah for the bouncer, exactly fourteen ; 
The bUthest old schoolboy that ever was seen , 
Hurrah for the Harry who went by, this way, 
Last Valentine's eve, tJiirteeii and a day ! 

There was Harry, aged iivelve, I remember him well 
A hawk from a hernshaw he always could tell ; 
And Harry, eleven — ah ! how he would fiddle 
And scrape with his bow from the end to the middle. 

Then the bold boy of ten that my Harry appeared, 
A few years ago, when the war-mists were cleared ; 
A chubby young fellow he flourished at nine, 
A right chubby fellow, this Harry of mine. 

At eight he was slender ; at seven, quite fat ; 

At six he was saucy — depend upon that! 

At Jive he put on his first trowsers and jacket ; 

At fo7ir who could match him for making a racket ? 

At thi^ee the young rascal was always in trouble ; 
At tzvo he was teething (his front teeth, and double) ; 
At ojie he was precious and something to carry, 
And the year before that there was never a Harry I 



THREE WAYS. 



145 



THREE WAYS. 

"How sweet," said the swan, 
" To glide and plash ! 
And not, like a frog, 
To dive and dash." 

'How fine," said the frog, 

" To dive and dash ! 
And not, like a swan, 
To glide and plash." 

•*But better than either 
To float with grace," 
A pond lily whispered, 
"Yet keep your place.' 




146 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



Tom of Clapham used to say- 
He loved his mother dearly ; 

Yet he vexed her sorely every day 
Does that strike you queerly ? 



WHAT THEY SAY. 

What does the drum say? "Rub-a-dub-dub! 
Rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub ! Pound away, bub ! 
Make as much racket as ever you can. 
Rub-a-dub! rub-a-dub! Go it, my man!" 

What does the trumpet say ? " Toot-a-toot-too I 
Toot-a-toot, toot-a-toot ! Hurrah for you ! 
Blow in this end, sir, and hold me out, so. 
Toot-a-toot ! toot-a-toot ! Why don't you blow } " 

What does the whip say.? '' Snaperty-snap ! 
Call that a crack, sir — flipperty flap ! 
Up with the handle, and down with the lash. 
Snaperty ! snaperty ! Done in a flash." 

What does the gun say.? "Put in my stick, 
I 'm a real pop-gun. Fire me quick ! 
See that you fire in nobody's eye. 
Steady! my manikin. Now let it fly!" 



AfV BABY. 



H7 



What does the sword say? Swishy-an-swish ! " 
Flash in the sunh'ght, and give me a wish. 
Wish I was real, sir ^— cut 'em in bits! 
Would n't I scare all the world into fits ! " 

What do they all say, trumpet and gun. 
Whip, sword, and drum-stick ? Hurrah for fun 
Babies no longer, but stout little men. 
Racket forever ! and racket again ! " 



One step — two step, 

Three step — four. 
Who says my baby 

Can't travel the floor? 
Five step — six step — 

Seven step — eight ! 
Now shall my baby 

Rest him in state ^ 



148 



RHYMES AND yiNGLES, 



MELONS. 




Melons ! melons ! 

All day long 
Joe's mother sits 

Selling melons. 
Ho ! ripe and rich ! " 

Is her song, 
A.11 day long 

Selling melons. 



MELONS. 



149 




Melons ! melons ! 

All day long, 
Joe walks the street 

Selling melons. 
Ho! ripe and sweet! 

Is his song, 
All day long 

SeUing melons. 



I50 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



HOW MANY THINGS IN MY POCKET? 

Tap at your brain and unlock it, 

Then count all the things in my pocket: 

A nail and a screw, 

A screw-driver, too ; 

A cent and a dollar, 

A tumbled-up collar ; 

A neck-tie and glove, 

A note from my love ; 

Two peppermint-drops, 

A couple of tops ; 

A buckle, a ball. 

The head of a doll ; 

A top-snare, of course, 

A six-penny horse ; 

Four pins, always handy, 

And three sticks of candy ; 

Ten nuts and a pen, 

A squirt — and what then ? 

Why, my knife, to be sure, 

And an old wooden skewer ; 

That's all — oh! a string, 

A galvanized ring ; 

A pistol (but no one could cock it), 

And that's all I had in my pocket. 



THE GALLANT OUTRIDERS. 



151 



THE GALLANT OUTRIDERS. 

" Where have you been, my children ; 

Where have you been, I pray ? " 
"Oh, but we've been a-riding, 

A-riding the Uve-long day." 

" And how did you ride, my darlings ; 

And where did all of you go } " 
" We all of us went on horseback, 

A-galloping in a row. 




" Jack had the whole of the saddle ; 
I held on to the tail ; 
And Leslie, under the fore-feet, 
Managed to ride the rail ; 



152 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

"Jackey galloped and cantered, — 
Played he galloped, I mean ; 
For Les. and I did the rocking, 
And Jack just rode between. 

" Oh, did n't our animal caper 
As he hitched himself along! 
We might have kept on forever, 
If they'd only made him strong. 

"But when I pitched on the carpet, 
His tail so tight in my hand, 
And Les. from the rail fell kicking, 
Why, horsey came to a stand. 

" If Les. had only kept quiet. 

We might have played we were dead; 
I don't see the sense in yelling 

Because you have bumped your head. 

"Jackey held on like a good one, 
And looked as fine as a fiddle, — 
But it's nothing to ride a-horseback 
If a fellow is on the middle." 



THE BUSY BEE. 



^53 




Busy bee ! busy bee ! 

Where is your home ? " 
In truth, pretty maiden, 

I live in a comb." 

And you, little Rabbit, 
Where do you rush ? " 

I rush to my home, dear^ 
Under the brush ! " 




54 



RHYMES AND JINGLES, 




DOBBIN'S FRIEND. 155 

DOBBIN'S FRIEND. 

Dobbin has a little friend, 

Spotted white and sable ; 
Every day she goes to him, 

In his lonely stable. 

Not a mite of dread has she. 

Not a thought of danger ; 
Lightly runs between his hoofs, 

Jumps upon his manger ; 

Lays her soft, warm cheek to his. 
Purrs her meek " Good morning ! " 

Gives the flies that hover near, 
Siich a look of warning ! 

" Dobbin, dear, she sometimes says, 
" Feel my winter mittens ; 
Nice and warm, you see, and made 
Purposely for kittens. 

"Dobbin, dear, such times at home! 
Mother has caught a rat ! 
Brought it home to show to us — 
What do you think of that } " 

" Dobbin ! " she whispers, purring still, 
" You often get so weary. 
Why don't you balk or run away. 
And get your freedom, dearie ? " 



156 RHYMES AND JINGLES, 

Then Dobbin gives his head a toss, 
And says, " For shame, Miss Kitty ! 

If I could do so mean a thing, 
'Twould be a monstrous pity. 

" No, no ; my master's good and kind : 
I '11 never vex him, never ! " 
And pussy, pleased, still rubs his cheek. 
And likes him more than even 



THE WAY TO DO IT. 

I'll tell you how I speak a piece: 

First, I make my bow ; 
Then I bring my words out clear 

And plain as I know how. 

Next, I throw my hands up so! 

Then I lift my eyes — 
That's to let my hearers know 

Something doth surprise. 

Next, I grin and show my teeth. 

Nearly every one ; 
Shake my shoulders, hold my sides 

That 's the sign of fun. 



THE WAY TO DO IT I $7 

Next I start and knit my brow, 

Hold my head erect : 
Something's wrong, you see, and I 

Decidedly object. 

Then I wabble at my knees, 

Clutch at shadows near, 
Tremble well from top to toe : 

That 's the sign of fear. 

Now I start, and with a leap 
Seize an airy dagger. 
" Wretch ! " I cry. That 's tragedy, 
Every soul to stagger. 

Then I let my voice grow faint, 

Gasp and hold my breath ; 
Tumble down and plunge about : 

That 's a villain's death. 

Quickly then I come to life, 

Perfectly restored ; 
With a bow my speech is done. 

Now you'll please applaud. 



ISS RHYMES AND JINGLES, 



There's a fragrance in the blossom, 
But the fruit is better still ; 

And the river rushes farther 
Than ever could the rill. 



WILLY AND HIS PIPE. 

Willy lay by the dimpling brook, 
Where the sun had lain before ; 
And, strange to say, when its place he took, 
The spot just brightened the more. 

The birds were singing in the blue, 

A song that was like a hymn ; 
While the baby ducklings, two by two, 

Strayed into the water to swim. 

" Heigho ! " sighed Willy, " I cannot fly, 
Nor even so much as float ; 
And as for singing like robins, why, 
I never could raise a note. 

" But I can play on my pipe," said he ; 
And soon the music came — ^ 



WILLY BY THE BROOK. 1 59 

So clear and sweet, so blithesome free, 
That it put the birds to shame. 

The baby ducklings softly splashed, 

The robins yet harder tried, 
The sprinkled grass in sunlight flashed, 

As it nodded by Willy's side. 

And, before he knew, he was floating free 

On a sparkling river of thought ; 
While the birds in the air came down to see 

What wonder the pipe had wrought. 

And still the music softly rose. 

Still Willy was floating free ; 
And the little ducks with their funny toes, 

Were happy as happy could be. 




i6o 



RHYMES AND yiNGLE:^. 




I HAD a little Scotchman, 
Who reached to my chin 

He was swift as an arrow, 
And neat as a pin. 

He ran on my errands, 
And sang me a song ; 

Oh, he was as happy 
As summer is long ! 



LAZY LOU, 



i6i 



TROTTERy, trottery, out of breath, 
Nurse trots the baby 'most to death 
Sick or well, or cold or hot, 
It 's trottery, trottery, trottery-trot ! 



LAZY LOU. 



Lazy Lou, Lazy Lou, 

What's the matter, child, with you 

Can't you work ? Can't you play ? 




Can't you tuck your hair away ? 
If I were you, my Lazy Lou, 
I 'd change my ways. That 's what I 'd do, 
II 



162 



RHYMES AND JINGLMS. 




P in the morning early — 

Hi for my baby sweet ! 
Here's a gown for his body, 

Here are shoes for his feet. 
And here is his snowy tucker 

Tied with ribbons fair, 
And here is his Httle mammy 

To curl his bonny hair. 
Here is his little bath-tub, 

And here is his little sponge. 
Before the gown and the curling 

My baby shall have a plunge*. 



Pins in the carpet, tacks in the floor. 

Needles in the drugget, wind through the door, 

Fire in the fender ! Oh, it beats all ! 

There isn't a place where our baby can crawl. 



PUSSY AND DOGGIE. 



163 




If Pussy were made of leather, 
And Doggie were made of lead, 

I 'd tumble them both together. 
And hammer them on the head. 

But Pussy is warm and tender, 
And Doggie is good and true ; 

So I 'd rather far defend her. 
And Doggie, too, would n't you ? 




164 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




BE CAREFUL. 

Never in a fool's mouth 
Thrust your careless finger ; 

If you do, there 's danger 
It may chance to linger. 

Never to the foolish 

Tell your dearest thought ; 
Or you '11 find your confidence, 

Like your finger, "caught." 



Never with the silly 
Banter, sport, or jest ; 

Even for your frolics 

Wise friends are the best. 



FARM LESSONS. 165 



FARM LESSONS. 



" Ho 1 plowman Kelly ! How does it feel 
To get in a wagon by climbing the wheel?" 

" Nay, nay, little master, don't try it, I beg, 
For that is the way that I broke my leg." 

'* Kelly, Kelly ! Come, show me the way 
They turn this machine when they cut the hay ! ' 

" No, no, little master, just let it be — 
That hay-cutter cut off my thumb for me." 

" Ho, Kelly ! The well-curb is rimmed with moss. 

Now look at me while I jump across ! " 
" Hold, hold, young master ! 'T would be a sin ! 

I tried it once, and I tumbled in." 

"Kelly, Kelly! Send me to jail, 
But I '11 pluck a hair from yon pony's tail." 

"Oh, master, master! Come back! Don't try — 
That's the very way that 1 lost my eye." 

" Why, Kelly, man, how under the sun 
Can you be so frisky and full of fun .? — 
With all your mishaps, you are never a spoon — 
You 're as brave as a lion and wise as a coon." 

" Well, well, young master, maybe it 's so, 
And maybe it isn't. But this I know : 
It just brings trouble and mischief and slaughter. 
To be fussin' around where one hadn't ought ten 



l66 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



UP IN A BALLOON. 

We all went up in a big balloon — 

Father, Uncle, Freddy, and I ; 
The band struck up a beautiful tune, 

And all the populace waved "good-bye." 

At first it wavered, and jerked and swayed, 
And father asked : ** Do you feel afraid ? " 

But I laughed : " Oh, no ! 

It is grand to go ; " 
And so he called me his brave little maid. 

Up we went. Oh, ever so high ! 

Up, till we must have touched the sky ; 

Town, river, and bay. 

All faded away, — 
And then poor Freddy began to cry : 
"I want to get out," he screamed, *'oh, my!" 

Up, up, we went, and on we sailed ; 
While still poor Freddy wept and wailed. 

He jumped about. 

And tried to get out ; 
And so we soon went down, down, down. 
And tied the balloon to a tree in town. 



1 68 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




THE KITTEN PICTURE. 



Two little sisters, one little brother, 
Five little kittens, and one cat mother. 
One little kit is tossed up overhead, 
One little kit is put upon the bed ; 
One very little cat, solemn as a fish. 
One great big cat is feeding from a dish. 
Two little kitty-kits seated on the floor, 
Each little kitty-kit washing his own paw. 



THE KITTEN PICTURE. 169 

One little pig-tail. Now, where is that? 
One little crown-piece ; cap, is it, or hat ? 
Four little blue eyes, and three Uttle chicks ; 
Five little kittens full of pretty tricks. 
Kitty-kits, pig-tail, blue eyes, and bed ; 
Chicks, cat, and crown-piece top of baby's head ; 
Dish, tricks, and downy paws being licked so clean. 
All, in the picture, are plainly to be seen. 



Some are starving, some are filling, 
Some are lazy, and some are willing, 
Some are frowzy, and others are curled -- 
It takes all kinds, sir, to make a world. 



I/O 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




POOR CROW! 

Give me something to eat, 
Good people, I pray ; 

^ have really not had 
One mouthful to-day • 

I am hungry and cold, 
And last night I dreamed 

A scarecrow had caught me — 
Good land, how I screamed \ 



Of one little children 

And six ailing wives 
(No, one wife and six children), 

Not one of them thrives. 



THE WOODEN HORSE. I/I 

So pity my case, 

Dear people, I pray ; 
I 'm honest, and really 

I 've come a long way. 



THE WOODEN HORSE. 

A REAL horse is good, 

But a horse made of wood 
Is a much better horse for my lad ; 

For he need n't be tied, 

And he 's steady beside, 
And never is lazy or bad. 

When pulled, he will go ; 

And he stops when you " whoa \ '' 
For he always is willing to please ; 

And though you may stay 

By the water all day, 
Not once for a drink will he tease. 

Not a handful of feed. 

All his life, does he need ; 
And he never wants brushino^ or combine 

And after a race 

All over the place, 
He never stands panting and foaming. 



1/2 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

He does n't heed flies, 

Though they Ught on his eyes ; 

Mosquitoes and gnats he won't mind 
And he never will shy, 
Though a train whizzes by. 

But always is gentle and kind. 

A real horse, some day. 
Will be running away ; 

A donkey is so apt to kick ; 
A goat will upset you, 
A doggie will fret you — 

Your wooden horse has n't a trick ! 

No chance of a crash, 
Or a runaway smash. 

Though never so playful and glad. 
Oh ! 't is best when you drive 
To be brought home alive — 

So a fine wooden horse for my lad ! 



BESTIR YOURSELVES, 173 



Tinker, come bring your solder, 

And mend this watch for me. 
Haymaker, get some fodder, 

And give my cat his tea. 
Cobbler, my horse is limping. 

He' 11 have to be shod anew ; 
While the smith brings forge and hammer 

To make my daughter a shoe. 
Bestir yourselves, my lazies ! 

I give you all fair warning: 
You must do your work 'twixt twelve at night, 

And an hour before one in the morning. 



There was a rare boy who fell ill. 
And begged them to give him a pill ; 
" For my kind parents' sake, 
The dose I will take," 
Said this rare little boy who fell ill. 



1/4 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



TAKING TIME TO GROW. 

" Mamma ! mamma ! " two eaglets cried, 
" To let us fly you 've never tried. 
We want to go outside and play ; 
We '11 promise not to go away." 
The mother wisely shook her head : 
" No, no, my dears. Not yet," she said. 

"But, mother dear," they called again, 
** We want to see those things called men, 
And all the world so grand and gay. 
Papa described the other day. 
And — don't you know.? — he told you then 
About a little tiny wren. 
That flew about so brave and bold. 
When it was scarcely four weeks old } " 

But still the mother shook her head ; 
*' No, no, my dears, not yet," she said. 
" Before you see the world below. 

Far bigger you will have to grow. 

There 's time enough to look for men ; 

And as for wrens — a wren's a wren. 

What if your freedom does come late } 

An eaglet can afford to wait." 



TAKING TIME TO GROW. 



175 




NO, NO, MY DEARS NOT YET,' SHE SAID. 



176 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



THE NAUGHTY BOY. 

" OcH, save us ! " cried Betty, '' I 'm 'most driven wild 
Would you shtep here a moment, ma'am, please ? 
For the sowl of me, ma'am, I can't ready the child 
While he keeps up such doin's as these. 

" I might better be curlin' a porkerpine quill, 
Or washin' the face of a eel. 
Than be dressin' of him — for he never bees still 
'Less I howld him by neck an' by heel. 

"It's three blissed times since I put on his clothes 
That he 's wriggled stret off o' the chair ; 



Not a moment ag-o he attack-ted me nose, 



■•& 



And it's twice he's been into me hair. 

" If ye 'II credit me, ma'am, wid his cryin' an' kickin', 
He *s brought tears to my eyes, ma'am, like rain — 
If he wasn't so bad, ma'am, I would n't be speakin', 
For I niver was one to complain." 

Thus summoned, I went to the nursery-door , 

There sat master Johnny, a-pout. 
And I said, as I lifted him up from the floor, 

" Why, Johnny, what 's all this about } " 

A scream was his answer. His flushed little face 
Looked angrily up into mine ; 



THE NA UGH TV BOY. 1/7 

" Oo hurt ! " " Do I, Johnny ? Where ? — show me 
the place ! " 
But his cry only changed to a whine. 

In a moment, I found out the cause of the trouble — 
'Twas a pin, pricking deep in his side ; 

And she, in her roughness, had bent the thing 
double — 
No wonder my darling had cried ! 

Poor Johnny ! He sobbed on my shoulder awhile, 

Then held up his face to be kissed ; 
(If Betty went back to the Emerald Isle, 

I know where she would n't be missed.) 

Soon, meek as a lamb when the tempest is whirling, 
And the shepherd is deaf to his bleat, 

Our Johnny submitted to washing and curUng, 
Till Betty proclaimed him " complete." 



In "righting" each other, 
(As Betty would say), 

If we find there's a bother 
That stands in the way — 

Perhaps 'twould be well, 
Before crying, "Sin," 

And running to tell, 
To look for the pin! 



1 7a 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




LITTLE MISS LIMBERKIN. 



Little Miss Limberkin, 

Dreadful to say, 
Found a mouse in the cupboard 

Sleeping away. 
Little Miss Limberkin 

Gave such a scream, 
She frightened the little mouse 

Out of its dream. 



THE FROG. 1^9 



THE FROG WHO WOULDN'T A-WOOING GO. 

Ye gentlemen far, and gentlemen near, 
And ladies fair, and children dear. 
Come, list to the mournful tale — heigho ! — 
Of the frog who wouldn't a-wooing go. 



Once on a time, when nations were few. 
And whether the world stood still or flew. 
Nobody cared and nobody knew, 

A respectable pair, 
By name of Gluck, 

Lived in a pool 

On the Isle of Muck. 
Oh ! very blest were this pair of frogs, 
Their lot was cast in the softest of bogs. 
Mrs. Gluck had an exquisite voice. 

Their sky was serenest. 

Their puddle the greenest 
That ever bade heart of a froggy rejoice. 

II. 

But of all the blessings that came to this pair. 
Most precious of all was a son and heir, 
With the widest of mouths and the loveliest stare 
Their brisk little polHwog, 

Hearty and hale ; 
Their own little frisky one. 
All head and tail ! 



l8o RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

Ah ! never were parents so happy as these, 
Though their child, to be sure, wouldn't sit on 

their knees. 
And this, let me say, was a very bad sign. 

Though they didn't perceive it 

And couldn't conceive it. 
For it proved that he didn't to duty incline. 

III. 

Well, the days flew along, and their child grew 

apace. 
Till at last a fine form came to balance his face ; 
And his legs grew so fast they seemed running 
a race. 

Completed at last, 

With his garment of green, 
Just the handsomest froggy 
That ever was seen, 
He said to his mother : " Now, madam, I'm blown 
If — ahem ! I sJwidd say, I am perfectly grown ; 
So in future I 'd wish my own master to be. 
Though I thank you most kindly 
For loving me blindly." 
(Such airs in a youngster were dreadful to see !) 



rv. 

" O son," quoth his mother, " you fill me with 

pain ! " 
And she sobbed and she sighed with her whole 

might and main, 
And called to her husband in desperate strain. 



THE FROG. l8l 

" Pooh, pooh ! " said old Gluck, 
" The youngster is right, 
So let him alone, ma'am, 
Or you and I '11 fight. 
And, hark ye, my son, I have noticed of late 
Yon puddle attracts you. Tis well. Find your mate. 
The Gungs, as a family, seem to adore you. 
Select your own waters. 
Take one of the daughters. 
And leap into life like your father before you." 

V. 

Alas for young puddledum ! Proudly he scouted 
The sire's good advice. He sulked and he pouted, 
And the Gung girls, in turn, every one of them, flouted 
" What, choose me a wife ! 
Does he think I'm a fool ? 
No, my motto for life 
Is : one frog to a pool. 
Shall I yield up my freedom — be tied to a log ? 
Not I, by my jumps ! " quoth this prig of a frog. 
"Miss Gung, sir, for all /'ll prevent, gug-a-loo ! 
May sing till they carry me, 
* No one will marry me, 
Nobody, nobody 's coming to woo ! ' " 

VT. 

I must tell you ; old Gluck, with his puddle so fair, 
Was known by the banks as mud-millionaire. 
So, young Gluck (who you know, was his first son 
and heir), 



l82 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




Soon set up a team 

Of sleek water-rats, 
And covered his head 

With the brightest of hats ; 
Then, with a phaeton and footman or two, 
He drove forth to dazzle, to awe and subdue. 
Oh! glum was his face, his heart icy cold! 



THE FROG. I S3 

And the seat of his car, 
Though too wide by far 
For one single frog, not another would hold. 



VII. 

But when did the heartless, disdainful, and flat 
Live on, unrebuked by this world's tit for tat ? 
And why did our frog trust his fate to a rat? 

One day, as he drove, 

There came forth to stare — 

Kingfisher and Duck — 
A most comical pair. 
The first was the proudest that ever was seen, 
For the rod in his hand was the gift of his queen; 
But the other — ah ! never did duck so expand ; 

Yet strut as he could. 

And strain as he would, 
Poor Quack, for the life of him, could n't look grand. 

VIII. 

Yet he took it amiss that his efforts were lost 
To thaw with his splendor that armor of frost 
(For our frog quite disdained any duck to accost). 

And loudly he shouted, 
" Come back, sir, come back ! 

You 're spoiling our road 

With your zig-zagging track, 
Come back, or yon man, with his cat-o'-nine tails, 
Will be after your team, till you whistle like quails - 
Great Neptune ! If there ain't the mischief to pay ! 



1 84 RHYMES AND y/NGlES. 

Jnst as sure as I waddle, 
Or swim, dive, or paddle, 
Those rats of young Gluck's are a-running away ! '* 



IX. 

Too true. They had heard the duck's dreadful ap- 
peal — 
A cat with nine tails ! why, the thought made them 

squeal. 
And they ran for their holes, with poor Gluck, neck 
and heel. 

But whether he lived, 
Or whether he died, 
Or whether the rats 
Managed safely to hide, 
Or whether his parents e'er saw him again. 
Or whether Miss Gung always waited in vain, 
'Neath her lily-pads green, for a lover, or no, 
Are things that belong 
To the rest of my song 
Of the frog who would n't a-wooing go. 



PART SECOND. 



Oh! moan, ye winds, by the green pool's brink! 
And quickly, ye Glucks, in the deep mud sink ; 
Prepare all the dregs of affliction to drink ! 



THE FROG. 185 

The pride of the puddle, 
Breath of thy breath, 

Lies low in the marshes, 
Fainting to death. 
Oh ! weep, poor Miss Gung ! for there never shall be 
In thy home of the lilies a lover for thee. 
Thy sun goeth down with never a glow. 

He hath frowned on thy fate, 

On thy maiden estate. 
And the one whom thou lovest is lying all low ! 

II. 

Ha ! what is this coming } what wreck do they spy } 
What driverless rat-steeds are these rushing by .? 
"Our child!" cried the mother; "oh! fly to him, fly!" 

These words to old Gluck, 
And that mother fell dead ; 

She had burst with her grief, 
And the vital spark fled. 
Then madly in search leaped that father bereft. 
And wildly those goggle-eyes peered right and left; 
Till at last, where the bank lay a little aslant, 

He saw his son lying. 

Apparently dying. 
For all he could do was to quiver and pant. 

III. 

" Oh ! leap, little Eng " (this, Gluck said to his latest, 
A froggy half-grown), "bring of doctors the greatest, 
And look to thy speed, that thou never abatest, 



1 86 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

Bring Tightskin, or Squatt, 

Or my cousin Paff-Puff; 
But don't bring them all — 

One doctor 's enough. 

horror ! he fails ! Be quick, Eng, be quick ! 

His eye-balls are sinking ! his breath's growing thick. 
Either Tightskin or Squatt will be better than Faff — " 

But Eng never heard, 

He had left at the word. 
Bound, of course, for the third of that medical staff 

IV. 

" Oh ! look at me, son ! Oh ! lift up your head ! 
And don't lie so limp, for you fill me with dread 
For pity's sake, hear me. Your mother is dead ! " 
" Dead ! " gasped Master Gluck, 
" And I lying here } 
Oh ! why will these mothers 
Step out of their sphere } 
If ever I needed good nursing 'tis now, 
And your masculine paw, sir, it scratches my brow. 

1 need some one gentle — more gentle than air — 

father ! I fear 

1 am injured in here." 

And our frog pressed his heart in the deepest despair 

v. 

" Now, bear up, my son," cried the sorrowing Gluck. 
" See ! the doctor is coming. He '11 bring us good luck. 
By my croak ! but it 's Paff, the conceited old buck,* 



THE FROG. 



lis? 



Then, quick to the doctor, 

" My child ! Is he killed ? 
Oh ! save me my son 

From the phaeton spilled. 
Haste ! give me the lotion ! I '11 pour it on here." 
" No, no," moaned the patient, " I can't have him 

near, 
His rubbing is torture. I 'd rather be hung. 
Dear doctor, he 's rough — 
He 's nursed me enoug^h — 
Oh ! send Httle Eng for that oldest Miss Gun^." 




1 88 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

VI. 

Then outspake the uncle, with wrath in his face, 
And a grunt of denial that filled all the place, 
* No, no. Master Gluck, /'// attend to your case, 

Humph ! nursing indeed ! 
You 've called me too late. 

In less than an hour, sir, 
We '11 lay you out straight. 
No Miss Gung shall you have. Her father's my friend. 
If you'd done as you ought — Never mind. I intend 
To have all my sons, cousin Gluck, marry early. 

Had my patient seen fit 

To wed, I'll admit 
He might have been saved," said this doctor so surly. 

VII. 

And then, while our hero lay moaning with pain, 
And his father kept rubbing and fussing in vain, 
The doctor continued, in furious strain, 
"This accident — humph! 

Cousin Gluck, on my word. 
With a family team, sir, 
Would not have occurred. 
This thinking and plotting for self all the while. 
And frisking about, sir, in bachelor style, 
With no one to nurse you when hurt, sir, don't pay." 
"Good doctor," moaned froggy, 
"It isn't too late. 
Even now she'd consent 
To soften my fate. 
Oh Eng ! dear, run off for Miss Gung, right away." 



THE FROG. 189 

VIII. 
These words were his last. He never moved more, 
But lay through the starlight, all fainting and sore 
(And those weary night-watchers, how rasping their 
snore) ! 

In the morning they found him 

Stretched out stiff and stark — 
He had died all alone 
In the cold and the dark. 
The chord of existence had snapt, they averred, 
In trying to utter one sweet little word. 
And, as over his body his weeping sire hung, 
'Twas plain to be seen. 
From that mouth's very mien. 
That the last mournful sound of his life had been — 
Gung ! 

Oh ! gentlemen far, and gentlemen near, 
And striplings fair, and children dear, 
Be warned by the mournful tale, heigho ! 
Of the frog who wouldn't a-wooing go. 



90 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




THE STUBBORN BOOT. 

Bother ! was all John Clatterby said. 
His breath came quick, and his cheek was red, 
He flourished his elbows, and looked absurd, 
While, over and over, his " Bother ! " I heard. 



Harder and harder the fellow worked, 
Vainly and savagely still he jerked ; 
The boot, half on, would dangle and flap — 
" Qh bother ! " and then he broke the strap. 



THE STUBBORN BOOT 19I 

Redder than ever his hot cheek flamed ; 
Harder than ever he fumed and blamed ; 
He wriggled his heel, and tugged at the leather 
Till knees and chin came bumping together. 

" My boy ! " sai^ I, in a voice like a flute, 
" Why not — ahem ! — try the mate of that boot ; 
Or the other foot ? " — " I'm a goose," laughed John, 
As he stood, in a flash, with his two boots on. 

In half the affairs 

Of this busy life 
(As that same day 

I said to my wife), 
Our troubles come 

From trying to put 
The left hand shoe 

On the right-hand foot, 
Or vice versa 

(Meaning, reverse, sir). 
To try to force. 

As quite of course. 
Any wrong foot 

In the right shoe, 
Is the silliest thing 

A man can do. 



192 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

THE LITTLE DUTCHMAN. 




Oh I'm a little Tuchman, 
My name is Van der Dose, 

An vat I cannot ^^di to eat, 
I smells it mit my nose. 

An' ven dey vill not let me blay, 

I takes it out in vork ; 
And ven dey makes me vork too hard, 

I soon de jop will shirk. 

An' ven dey sends me off to ped, 

I lays avake all night ; 
An' ven dey comes to vake me up, 

I shuts my eyes up tight. 



A BIRTHDAY. 



193 



For I 'm a little Tuchman, 
My name is Van der Dose, 

An' vat I do not know myself, 
I never vants to knows. 



i GAVE my puss a mac-a-roon, 
And bade her eat with a sil-ver spoon ; 
I brought a glass of spark-ling wine, 
And bade the pret-ty creat-ure dine. 

But see what came of it, a-lack ! 
That naught-y pus-sy turned her back ; 
Now was n't it a dread-ful sight 
To see a puss so im-po-lite .-* 




194 WILLIE. 



WILLIE. 

Three-year-old Willie, bare-footed Willie, 

Willie, with hair in a golden-thread tangle ; 
Tottering Willie, self-helping Willie, 

Child in whom sweetness and poverty wrangle ; 
Willie, whose mother toils in my kitchen ; 

Willie, whose father carried a hod ; 
Willie, whose childish disdain is bolder 

Than the pride of the emperor, favored of God — 

Why dost thou knock at my heart, little pauper, 

Bidding me love thee, entering there, 
Sitting beside little cherubs who blessed me. 

Thy manner half saucy, and half debonair ? 
With garments all tattered and soiled, little Wilhe, 

And face all begrimed? 'Tis not fitting, you know — • 
Velvets and laces are fine, naughty Willie, 

And poor little boys should not come to me so. 

The chubby intruder, still wickedly smiling. 

And, ah ! what a shout ! (is he laughing at 7ne ? 
Can the rascal know even the thoughts I am thinking.?) 

Now rushes upon me, and climbs to my knee. 
And though he is silent, I hear him quite plainly — 

To listening hearts how a baby can speak ! 
He tells me (while laces and tatters are blending 

And his sunshiny tangles are brushing my cheek) : 



tviLLie. 



»9S 



*' i 'm a poor little fellow, with no one to teach me; 

But my soul is a new one — fresh from God ; 
And he gave it something so brave and holy, 

It never can turn to an earthly clod. 
" The birds never sing, ' Little Willie is ragged ! ' 

Nor the flowers, ' He will soil us ! Take him away ! ' 
But they 're glad when I happen to look and to listen, 

And the blue sky is over me night and day. 

"And what if my father, with hod and trowel, 

Carried and toiled the whole day long, 
Did n't he comfort my mother and love her ? 

Did n't he cheer her with frolic and song } 
I never saw him. One bright autumn morning, 

Just three years ago, he went off to the war — 
Went off to battle for you and your country : 

And then — he never came home any more. 

" Nevermore labored with hod and with trowel. 

Never came back with his joke and his song. 
Mother would know only working and weeping 

If I were not sunny and careless, and strong. 
She chides me and kisses me, beats me and blesses, 

And prays to the saints that her boy may be good ; 
If she could, she would keep me as clean as a daisy, 

Not ragged and soiled, in my fresh babyhood." — 

Say no more, Willie ! Mock me and love me ! 

Into my heart enter blithesomely still. 
Bright little soldier's boy, poor little worker's boy, 

Shame to the coward who uses thee ill ! 



196 RHYMES AND y INGLES. 



THE PIG AND THE LARK. 

A PIG scrambled up from his slumbers, 

And grunted with rage at the lark : 
'* Why must you begin your loud carol 
Before we are out of the dark ? " 

*' Good sir, " said the lark, as he flitted 
Right gayly from blossom to bud, 

"' Look up to the sky for your morning- 
It never begins in the mud ! " 



THE WELL-MEANING FROG. 

'TwAS a lonely bog, 
With a boy and frog 
On the marsh's brink. 
I '11 kill him ! " cried the boy. In fact 
He leaned to do the dreadful act, — 
When lo ! a splash ! 
And in a flash 
Did froggi-^ think : 

" Too true 
He meant to do 
Some harm to me, 
But then, you see 



THE WELL-MEANING FROG. 



197 



To mock him now would not be kind, 
Lest he should drown. 
I '11 just go down 
And tickle his ears 
To calm his fears 

And let him know that I did n 't mind. 




Soon, a dripping, sobbing, muddy boy 
Ran home across that lonesome bog; 

While placidly smiling on the shore 

Squatted that thoroughly well-meaning fro 



19^ 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




THE FROST-KING. igg 

THE FROST-KING. 

Oho I have you seen the Frost-King, 

A-marching up the hill ? 
His hoary face is stern and pale, 

His touch is icy chill. 
He sends the birdlings to the South, 

He bids the brooks be still ; 
Yet not in wrath or cruelty 

He marches up the hill. 

He will often rest at noontime, 

To see the sunbeams play ; 
And flash his spears of icicles, 

Or let them melt away. 
He'll toss the snow-flakes in the air, 

Nor let them go nor stay ; 
Then hold his breath while swift they fall. 

That coasting boys may play. 

He '11 touch the brooks and rivers wide, 

That skating crowds may shout ; 
He'll make the people far and near 

Remember he's about. 
He'll send his nimble, frosty Jack — 

Without a shade of doubt — 
To do all kinds of merry pranks, 

And call the children out ; 

He'll sit upon the whitened fields, 
And reach his icy hand 



200 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

O 'er houses where the sudden cold 
Folks cannot understand. 

The very moon, that ventures forth 
From clouds so soft and grand, 

Will stare to see the stiffened look 
That settles o 'er the land. 

And so the Frost-King o'er the hills, 

And o'er the startled plain. 
Will come and go from year to year 

Till Earth grows young again — 
Till Time himself shall cease to be, 

Till gone are hill and plain : 
Whenever Winter comes to stay, 

The hoary King shall reign. 




AFTER THE WINTER. 



20 ] 




ir/v. AFTER THE WINTER. 

,,^^r-^^^^^^ ^^^ summer is coming 
.^<»^;>^^g^ hurrah! 

^^^^ Old winter has gone for good 
The summer is coming— hurrah ! hurrah! 
The birdies are in the wood. 

The chickens are coming — hurrah ! 

Hear how the old hen clucks : 
The chickens are coming — hurrah ! hurrah ! 

And the queer little turkeys and ducks. 



The tad-poles are coming — hurrah! 
With their comical, wriggling tails 



202 RHYMES AND JINGLES, 

The tad-poles are coming — hurrah! hurrah! 
Like Uttle mites of whales. 

The crickets are coming — hurrah! 

And katydids always so funny : 
And fire-flies too — hurrah ! hurrah ! 

And bumble-bees laden with honey. 

The ant-hills are coming — hurrah ! 

What fun to see them rise : 
The ant-hills are coming — hurrah ! hurrah ! 

They 're growing before our eyes. 




The daisies are coming — hurrah! 

We '11 weave them in many a chain : 
The daisies are coming — hurrah! hurrah! 

The daisies are coming again 1 



AFTER THE WINTER. 203 

The cherries are coming — hurrah ! 

And apples and peaches and plums : 
The fruit is a-coming — hurrah ! hurrah ! 

We '11 feast on it when it comes. 

The swallows are coming — hurrah! 

There '11 be lots of birds in the sky ; 
The swallows are coming — hurrah! hurrah! 

We '11 whoop at them as they fly. 

The corn-fields are coming — hurrah I 

So green and waving and high : 
The corn-fields are coming — hurrah! hurrah! 

We'll hide in them by-and-by. 

The summer is coming — hurrah! 

We can bathe and swim and dive : 
The summer is coming — hurrah ! hurrah ! 

Oh ! it 's jolly to be alive I 

It's jolly to live — hurrah! 

Let us all be good and glad : 
It 's the grandest world — hurrah ! hurrah ! 

That ever we children have had. 




204 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



LITTLE WHIMPY. 

Whimpy, little Whimpy 

Cried so hard one day, 
His Grandma could n't stand it, 

And his mother ran away ; 
His sister climbed the hay-mow, 

His father went to town, 
And cook flew to the neighbor's, 

In her shabby, kitchen gown. 




Whimpy, little Whimpy 
Stood out in the sun 



LITTLE WHIMPY. 205 

And cried until the chickens 

And ducks began to run ; 
Old Towser in his kennel 

Growled in an angry tone ; 
Then burst his chain, and Whimpy 

Was left there, all alone. 

Whimpy, little Whimpy 

Cried, and cried, and cried ; 
Soon the sunlight vanished. 

Flowers began to hide, 
Birdies ceased their singing. 

Frogs began to croak, 
Darkness came; and Whimpy 

Found crying was no joke. 

Whimpy, little Whimpy, 

Never '11 forget the day 
When his Grandma could n't stand it, 

And his mother ran away ; 
He was waiting by the window 

When they all came home to tea-=- 
And a gladder boy than Whimpy 

You never need hope to see. 



206 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



NIGHT AND DAY. 

When I run about all day, 
When I kneel at night to pray, 
God sees. 

When I 'm dreaming in the dark, 
When I lie awake at]d hark, 
God sees. 

Need I ever know a fear } 
Night and day my Father's near 
God sees. 



AT THE WINDOW. 

In and out, in and out. 
Through the clouds heaped about. 
Wanders the bright moon. 

What she seeks, I do not know ; 
Where it is, I cannot show. 

I am but a little child, 

And the night is strange and wild. 



AT THE WINDOIV. 



ZO- 




In and out, in and out, 
Wanders the bright moon ; 

In and out, in and out, 
She will find it soon. 

There she comes ! as clear as day, 
Now the clouds are going away. 
She is smiling, I can see, 
And she's looking straight at me. 



Pretty moon, so bright and round. 
Wont you tell me what you found } 



208 



RHYMES AND JINGLES 




OUT OF THE SHELL. 

Well, I 'm out, after all ! 

And I '11 say, on my word. 
That's a pretty mean house 

For a duck of a bird ! 

Why, I could n't stand up, 
And I could n't sit down, 

But I lay in a cramp 

From my toes to my crown. 



My good mammy and dad 

May have thought me a spoon. 

But they'll not get me back 
In that thing very soon. 



BABY NELL. 



209 



Bees in the manger — 

Poor Dobbin 's nose ! 
Boys in the garden ; — 

Hide, pretty rose ! 
Cats in the dairy — 

Woe to the cream ! 
Spiders on the ceiling - 

Hear Mollie scream ! 



BABY NELL. 




Baby Nell had ten Httle toes, 
Baby Nell had two little hose, 
She always stared when the hose went on, 
And thought her ten 
14 



[ittle toes were gone. 



2IO RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



Lemons for Molly ; 

Molly is sour. 
Roses for Polly ; 

Polly's a flower. 
Ginger for Willie ; 

Willie is quick. 
Powders for Tillie ; 

Tillie is sick. 



JAMIE'S TROUBLES. 

Mamma, what 's zis on my ap'on ? 

Nassy ap'on make me ky ; 
Naughty ap'on awfu' 'ticky — 

Puttin' 'lasses in my eye. 

Go 'way, B'idget ! P'ease don't wass me 
(Don't want on no pooty d'esses), 

Dim me nudder piece of tandy, 
Den I be oor 'ittle pres-sus. 

Mamma, see, zis naughty soo-string 
Make poor Damie tumble down. 

It *s all b'oke — I want my Pop-pa 
Buy me nudder, 'way down town. 



JEAN AND KITTY. 211 

Mamma, dess I dettin s'eepy ; 

Don't make Damie tate a nap ; 
Tell me pooty 'tory, Mamma — 

Tate poor Damie on oor lap. 

Pooty Mamma, b'essed Mamma — 
(Want a d'ink out Damie's mug ?) 

O dat button hurt me dreffel ! 

Dat 's yight, Mamma — dim me hug ! 



JEAN AND KITTY. 

How did they learn that their* ways were small? 

Jean and Kitty — 
How did they know they were scorned by all .'* 

Jean and Kitty. 
Why, they listened one day, at a neighbor's blinds, 
And heard the family speak their minds — 

What a pity ! 



212 RHYMES ANl) JINGLES. 



DOGGIE'S TRICKS. 

What's this coming? Baby, hark! 

It 's the doggie — hear him bark — 
Bow, wow, wow, wow — 
Don't you frighten Baby now ! 

Pussy hears him. See her hide. 
Now ner eyes are open wide : 

Meouw, Meouw — sptisss, sptisss ! 

Oh how angry pussy is ! 

Go 'way, doggie — run off, quick ; 
Moonie cow has found your stick — 

Moo, moo, moo, moo ; 

Moonie cow is calling you. 

Now he 's off. He 's in the yard, 
All the sheep are running hard, 

Ba-a, ba-a, ba-a, ba-a ! 

(What a naughty dog you are !) 

Up, old rooster ! doggie 's coming ; 

He will catch you — see him running! 
Ech-ka cock-a-doodle doo — 
Go 'way, dog ! Who cares for you } 

Now he 's at the ducks — O look ! 
See them waddle to the brook. 



DOGGIE'S TRICKS. 

Quack ! quack ! quack ! quack ! 
Doggie cannot drive them back. 

Turkey gobbler, chase him now; 
Chase him, turkeys ! Bow, wow, wow ! 

Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble ! 

Bow, wow, wow — gobble, gobble ! 



213 




Sting him, bees ! The naughty doggie ! 
Jump upon him, great big froggie ! 

Buzz, buzz, gluck, gluck : 

Now, old doggie, where 's your pluck ? 



There, they've bothered you enough 
And you're sorry, poor old Buff? 

Bow, wow, wow, wow, 

Come and play with Baby now. 



514 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



Some children roam the fields and hills, 

And others work in noisy mills ; 

Some dress in silks and dance and play. 

While others drudge their life away ; 

Some glow with health and bound with song. 

And some must suffer all day long. 

Which is your lot, my girl and boy ? 

Is it a life of ease and joy? 

Ah, if it is, its glowing sun 

The poorer life should shine upon. — 

Make glad one little heart to-day. 

And help one burdened child to play. 



A COMMON MISTAKE. 

The wisest thing 

For any man, 
Is to get from others 

All he can. 
The meanest thing 

A man can do, 
Is to get his gains 

From me or you. 



LITTLE MINNIE STOWE. 



215 



LITTLE MINNIE STOWE. 




The fairest and the merriest, 
The kindest girl I know, 

The brightest and the cheeriest, 
Is little Minnie Stowe. 



Little Minnie Stowe it is — 
Little Minnie Stowe ; 

I '11 marry her when I am big 
The sweetest girl I know ! 



2i6 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



LETTING THE OLD CAT DIE. 

Not long ago, I wandered near 

A play-ground in the wood, 
And there heard a thing from youthful lips 

That I 've never understood : 

" Now let the old cat die ! " he laughed ; 

I saw him give a push, 
Then gayly scamper away as he spied 

My face peep over the bush. 

But what he pushed, or where it went, 

I could not well make out, 
On account of the thicket of bending boughs 

That bordered the place about. 

" The little villain has stoned a cat. 
Or hung it upon a limb. 
And left it to die all alone," I said ; 
" But I '11 play the mischief with him!' 

I forced my way between the boughs. 

The poor old cat to seek. 
And what did I find but a swinging child, 

With her bright hair brushing her cheek. 

Her bright hair floated to and fro. 
Her red little dress flashed by, 



LETTING THE OLD CAT DIE. 



217 




2l8 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

But the liveliest thing of all, I thought, 
Was the gleam of her laughing eye. 

Swinging and swaying back and forth, 

With the rose-light in her face. 
She seemed like a bird and a flower in one, 

And the wood her native place. 

"Steady! I'll send you up, my child," 

But she stopped me with a cry : 
" Go 'way ! go 'way ! Don't touch me, please — 

I 'm letting the old cat die ! " 

" You, letting him die ? " I cried, aghast ; 
" Why, where is the cat, my dear ? " 
And lo ! the laughter that filled the woods 
Was a thing for the birds to hear. 

"Why, don't you know," said the little maid, 

The flitting, beautiful elf, 
"That we call it 'letting the old cat die' 

When the swing stops all itself.? " 

Then floating and swinging, and looking back 

With merriment in her eye. 
She bade me ''good-day," and I left her alone, 

A-letting the old cat die- 



WHAT SHALL WE TAKE TO BOSTON. 



2I< 




What shall we take to Boston ? 
Tell me, my baby, pray. 
We must take our eyes to see with, 
And take our ears to hear with. 
And take our feet to run with, 
And take our arms to hug with, 

And a how d' ye do ? 

How do you do ? 
And how are you all to-day ? 



;20 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



LEARNING TO PRAY. 

Kneeling, fair, in the twilight gray, 
A beautiful child was trying to pray ; 
His cheek on his mother's knee, 
His bare little feet half hidden. 
His smile still coming unbidden. 
And his heart brimful of glee. 

" I want to laugh. Is it naughty .-* Say, 
O mamma ! I 've had such fun to-day, 
I hardly can say my prayers — 
I don't feel just like praying ; 
I want to be out-doors playing. 
And run, all undressed, down stairs. 

"■ I can see the flowers in the garden bed, 
Shining so pretty and sweet and red ; 
And Sammy is swinging, I guess. 
Oh ! everything is so fine out there, 
I want to put it all in my prayer, 
(Do you mean I can do it by ' Yes ' T) 

" When I say, ' Now I lay me,' word for word, 
It seems to me as if nobody heard. 

Would ' Thank you, dear God,' be right } 
He gave me my mother. 
And papa, and brother — 
O mamma ! you nodded I might." — 



LEARNING TO PRAY. 221 

Clasping his hands and hiding his face, 
Unconsciously yearning for help and grace, 
The little one now began. 

His mother's nod and sanction sweet 
Had led him close to the dear Lord's feet, 
And his words like music ran. 

"Thank you for making this home so nice, 
The flowers, and folks, and my two white mice 
(I wish I could keep right on). 
I thank you too for every day — 
Only I 'm 'most too glad to pray 
Dear God, I think I am done. 

"Now, mamma, rock me — just a minute — 
And sing the hymn with * darling' in it. 
I wish I could say my prayers ! 
When I get big, I know I can, 
Oh ! won't it be nice to be a man, 
And stay all night down stairs ! " 

The mother, singing, clasped him tight. 
Kissing and cooing her fond " Good night," 
And treasured his every word ; 

For well she knew that the artless joy 
And love of her precious, innocent boy 
Were a prayer that her Lord had heard. 



222 RHYMES AND JINGLES, 



TROTTY MALONE. 

Boys and girls, come riddle and ravel, 
Tell us how you would like to travel. 

Crispy, crackly, snow and tingle, 
" Give me sleighs ! " said Jenny Jingle. 

Stony, bumpty, bang and bolter, 
** Give me carts ! " said Johnny Jolter. 

Slidy, glidy, jerky whiff-ter, 
*• Give me cars ! " cried Sally Swifter. 

Flipetty, cricketty, elegant go, 
" Give me a buggy ! " said Benjamin Beau. 

" A fig for them all ! " cried Trotty Malone, 
" Give me a stout pair of legs of my own ! " 



Don't trust Chatter, who whispers low. 
And tells you stories of Prue and Joe. 
Be sure when he whispers to Joe and Prue, 
He'll tell them many a tale of you, 



RED AND WHITE. 22J 



RED AND WHITE. 

Once on a still December night, 

In the freezing, wintry weather. 
Two little stockings, red and white, 

Were softly talking together. 

Firelight flashed in the darkened room, 
Shadows were sliding and creeping 

Over the beds where, half in the gloom, 
Two little children were sleeping. 

" Hark ye ! " said White in a whisper low, 
"I fancy, Red, by your bulging so. 
You come from some plump little baby-leg — 
If I 'm mistaken, your pardon I beg." 

"That's so," said Red, *'for she kicked me off 
This very day (and she '11 have a cough. 
As sure as I 'm knit, for her careless ways — 
A cough that may trouble her all her days). 

" But you .'' Ah ! you look so fair and trim. 
You came from some little royal limb. 
With your dainty heading of daisy pink — 
At least so an humble sock would think." 

" Hoho ! " said White. "Don't you know me, Red ? 
Why, there 's my owner in yonder bed — 
Yours in the cradle and mine in the crib; 
And mine is the bigger, or else I fib, 



224 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

" But bless me, Red, I care not a flg. 

Though yours be little and mine be big ; 
Soon shall we hang in equal pride 
From yonder mantel side by side. 

" Down the chimney a figure will bound — 
Old Saint Nicholas, funny and round ; 
And, stuffing as though he never would stop, 
He'll fill us with good things up to the top.' 

"Hurrah!" cried Red, "and well for me 

That I bulge in the ankle and foot, you see." 

"And well for me," said White, "that I, 

Though narrow and slim, am long and high. 

" But, Red, after all, we need n't care. 

Though in shape and room we 're not a pair ; 
For the cradle and crib hold sisters, you see, 
And the crib will give to the cradle from me. 

" If I hold more and you hold less. 

The babies '11 make it even, I guess." 

"That's so," said Red, "but I quite despair 

When you hang so grand on the back of a 
chair." 

" Pooh, pooh ! " said White, " don't think of that — 
Think of the hours that I 'm folded flat ; 
And how often, when shoe-pegs pierce me 
through, 
I long to be woolen and thick like you." 



RED AND WHITE. 

** That's so," said Red — 'twas his pet reply — 
" But then I take so long to dry ! 
It 's very unpleasant to be so thick — 
Besides, I 'm just as red as a brick." 

" My friend," said White, with an anxious sigh, 
How quickly your troubles multiply ! 
I really think" (here he gave a cough) 

" It affects your spirits — to be kicked off." 



225 




" That 's so," said Red again — "I feel 
Just good for nothing from toe to heel. 
She kicks me off, till I 'm almost dead, 
I 'd die of the blues if I was n't so red.' 



"Come, neighbor, cheer up!" said White in distress; 
" We 're only stockings, I must confess ; 
15 



526 RHYMES AND JINGLltS. 

Yet we suit the feet that are wearing us out, 
So there really is nothing to worry about. 

"The worst that stockings or children can do 
Is to hold the dark side always in view. 
This fretting and fussing, dear Red, is shocking. 
I know it is ; though I 'm only a stocking. 

"And think how grand it will be, dear Red — 

Or how glad we shall feel, I should have said — 
When on Christmas morning, after their sleep. 
Our dear little owners into us peep." 

" That 's so ! " cried the other. " Away with folly, 
For the rest of my days I mean to be jolly. 
She may kick me off — the dear little tot — 
Whenever she pleases; I'll mind it not. 

" Christmas is coming ! that 's so ! that 's so ! 

And tJien I'll be somebody — won't I, though.? 
By the way, old White, I wish it were day, 
So she 'd put me on, and frolic and play." 

White laughed with joy, and said, "All right. 

You've come to your senses now. Good-night." 
And so all quiet and peaceful they lay 

Till the children awoke at break of day. 



THE THIRD OF JULY, 22? 



THE THIRD OF JULY. 

Ha, ha ! little toddlekins — cash did you say ? 

You shall have it, my boys. 

For racket and noise, 

Crackers and powder, 

Louder and louder. 
Shall bang and resound on the glorious day ! 

Here's a dollar for Johnny, a dollar for Paul. 

And you, little Dick, 

Come to father my chick ! 

Now that 's for a pack. 

And that 's for a pack, 
And that 's for torpedoes and snappers and all ! 

Now Robbie and Willie, — you boys with "real" pockets, 

Ha, ha ! I declare. 

Shall I put it in there.? 

Hear it dropping, co-chunk ! 

What ! you want more for punk } 
Here it is. And Fll see to the pin-wheels and rockets. 

Of course, you all know of the great Declaration 

That made us as free 

As a country could be. 

On that glorious Fourth, 

East, West, South, and North 
Were proclaimed a United American Nation ! 



228 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



How our forefathers bled, — they, the mighty and wroth ! 

To make us all free, — 

Yts>,yotiy boys, and me. 

Though you can't understand 

How they wrestled and planned, 
You can honor them, boys, and remember the Fourth. 

Be off with your money ! To-morrow 's the word ! 

Hold, Johnny, here 's more 

To divide 'twixt you four. 

And Dick, here 's a dime, — 

Hurrah ! What a time ! 
We '11 have such a racket as never was heard ! 




WHEN I AM big:' 229 



When I am big, I mean to buy 
A dozen platters of pumpkin-pie, 

A barrel of nuts, to have 'em handy, 
And fifty pounds of sugar-candy. 

When I am big, I mean to wear 

A long-tailed coat, and crop my hair; 

I '11 buy a paper, and read the news. 
And sit up late whenever I choose. 



Wind for the tree-top, sun for the spear ; 
Johnny will be a big boy in a year. 
When he is big he can battle the storm ; 
While he is little, we '11 wrap him up warm. 



" Here 's plenty of shells and clay and water. 
Make me some nice mud-pies, my daughter." 

" Oh ! yes, mamma — and the sun is hot, 
I can heat my oven as well as not. 
If you will take, why, I will make — 
Pit 'em and pat 'em and set 'em to bake." 



230 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



LITTLE BELL DREER AND THE DISH- 
COVER. 

MAMMA ! look, cried little Bell Dreer ; 
There 's a girl in the cover like me ; 

And whenever I move she looks so queer ; 
It 's so funny — I never did see ! 

Why, she makes a face if I turn my cheek ; 

She makes a face if I wink. 
Oh ! her hair runs off, and she tries to speak ; 

Why, she's frightened at me, I think! 

Come out little girl, and see my doll ; 
Come out of the shine and play. 

1 haven't a bit of a sister at all, 
And my dolly is sick to-day. 

My dolly is sick, and my book is torn. 
And my hair has got to be curled ; 

And mother is reading. It 's real forlorn 
To be all alone in the world. 

Come out, little girl. Oh ! I wish you would. 

[You must lit make faces that way.] 
I 'd lift you out of the shine if I could, 
. And play with you all the whole day. 



LITTLE BELL DREER. 



231 




COME OUT, LITTLE GIRL." 



2^2 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



MASTER TREMBLE'S ADVENTURE. 

As soon as I take my degree 

As a classical scholar perfected, 
No sharp politician I '11 be, 

Asking favors of all the elected. 
No learned profession my plan. 

Nor trade, till my courage is blunter ; 
For surely, deny it who can } 

The greatest of men is the hunter ! 




There's Cummings the bold lion-tamer, 
And fearless, undaunted Gerard, 

And Baldwin, by tigers made lamer. 
And Speke with his camelopard. 



MASTER TREMBLE 'S AD VENTURE. 233 

And one of those days 'twill be Tremble, — 
Most famous of all, I '11 be bound, — 

The great lion-crusher, young Tremble, 
None equal to him the world round. 

Already, I 've tested my mettle : 

No cat but will flee at my tread ; 
And let a mosquito but settle 

And nip me — that instant he's dead! 
Know also that only this morning 

A terrible peril I met. 
While taking a ramble — no warning — 

(That hour shall I ever forget ?) 

I was longing at heart for a rifle. 

And a chance for some wonderful shot 
(A lion seemed then a mere trifle, 

I would rather encounter than not), 
When, presto ! a horrible creature 

Came buzzing and diving at me, 
Aiming straight at my favorite feature — 

A horrible, black bumble-bee ! 

A horrible black humble bumble. 

Bound straight for my beautiful nose ; 
For an instant (I '11 own) I did tumble, 

But quickly in majesty rose. 
Each childish emotion I swallowed, 

Moving onward as fast as I could ; 
The great buzzing monster, he followed 

Till we came to a shadowy wood. 



234 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

Ha! what was that sharp thrill of anguish, 

And what the great swelling that came ? 
And why was I rushing and shouting — 

The whole of my face in a flame ? 
I knew that the buzzing was louder, 

That my nose was as big as my head ; 
I wanted to grind him to powder ; 

I wished him a thousand times dead ! 

Blind battle ! my ev'ry-day jacket 

Was tighter than steel coat of mail, 
And the monster kept up such a racket, 

I scarce knew his head from his tail. 
He, plunging and wheeling and darting 

And pitching and screeching at me ; 
I, maddened with burning and smarting — 

What wonder I dodged by a tree ! 

What wonder that soon, in his frenzy, 

My murderous foe bumped his head ! 
The tree never tumbled nor tottered. 

But he fell co-chunk in its stead. 
Then I turned, in a terrible passion. 

And stamped with my full might and main 
I stamped in the sledge-hammer fashion, — 

My bee never bumbled again ! 

Then why should I not be a hunter, 
So gallant and fearless and spry } 

What other vocation would answer 
For such a brave fellow as I ? 



HARK ! MY CHILDREN. 235 

Ah ! woe to the beasts of the forest ! 

And woe to all monsters with wings ! 
As soon as my studies are over, 

I mean to do terrible things. 



'^^ff. 




Hark ! hark ! O my children, hark ! 

When the sky has lost its blue 
What do the stars sing in the dark ? 

" We must sparkle, sparkle, through." 

What do leaves say in the storm, 

Tossed in whispering heaps, together? 

We can keep the violets warm 
'Till they wake in fairer weather." 

What do happy birdies say. 

Flitting through the gloomy wood } 

We must sing the gloom away — 
Sun or shadow, God is good." 



236 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



THE TERRIBLE BALL. 

Give me your ear, good children all, 

I 'm going to set up a terrible ball — 

A terrible ball that began to grow 

From only the least little speckle of snow. 

And, to make the lesson pointed and plain, 

I '11 just remark that life, in the main, 

Is, etcet'ra — you know ; and I hope you '11 be good 

In future to show that you 've understood. 




Three lovely, little artless boys, 

All of them being mothers' joys, 

One day decided, in innocent mirth, 

To make a snow-ball as big as the earth. 

What makes the story more touching still. 

The big-eyed school-house on the hill 



THE TERRIBLE BALL. 



237 



Was in session, under the cross Miss Stookey, 
And these Uttle boys were '* playing hookey." 




Hookey from Stookey, they worked with a will, 

And, from making a ball like a tiny pill, 

They rolled and rolled, till, no longer small, 

'Twas big as Miss Stookey's waterfall. 

Then, like a pumpkin fair and round. 

They kept it rolling on the ground — 

Bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger. 

Bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger ! 

The boys could hardly push it along, 

It grew so mighty stout and strong. 



Now, this mammoth ball that began as a pill, 
Was made, you must know, on top of a hill ; 
This hill was so wonderful steep and high, 
That even the coasters would pass it by ; 



238 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



And, saving a road by the cattle made, 
It sloped right down, at a fearful grade, 
To the meadow where stood a cottage red 
Where these little children were born and bred. 

" Halloo ! " they cried, " let 's have some fun, 
There 's Stookey 's pig as sure as a gun ! " 

" Hooray ! hooray ! " cried the children three, 
Thus giving vent to their youthful glee. 
When — what do you think } — this ungrateful pill, 
That they 'd made so big on top of the hill, 
With an air that said, " Now, I think I Ve got 'em ! " 
Resolved to roll all the way to the bottom. 

The ball was swift, the ball was big, 
Alas for Stookey's innocent pig ! 
Alas for lovers who walked that way. 
They ne'er in their lives forgot the day ! 




THE TERRIBLE BALL. 239 

Alas for the learn'd Professor Gath 

Who happened to stroll in the snow-ball's path ! 

And alas, alas for those children three, 

Who shouted and cheered in their pretty glee ! 




Rolling, growing, demolishing all, 
On and on went the terrible ball ; 
It left the cattle down on their knees, 
It crushed the fences and bent the trees ; 
Even the hay-stacks went ker-fiop. 
It would n't turn, nor it would n't stop, 
But still rolled on in steady motion, 
Making a bee-line for the ocean ! 

With laugh and shout and merry hoot. 
Those children followed in glad pursuit. 
Hooray ! hooray ! " they cried again, 
And gave the chase with might and main ; 



240 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

They gave the chase with main and might, 
But the terrible ball rolled out of sight. 

And now comes the saddest part of all. 
(Oh ! that cruel, wicked, terrible ball ! ) 
When at last the three little artless boys. 
Tired of running and making a noise, 
Resolved to go home to their little bed. 
Where, oh ! where was that cottage red ? 
Where, oh! where? Ask the terrible ball — 
Never a home had those children small. 
Gone, clean gone! with picket and paling — 
And all their joy was turned to waihng ! 




MORAL. 



Hence it is, and so we see 
Thus and so, it seems to me, 
As I 'm sure you '11 all agree. 



BENNY'S BUTTONS. H^ 



BENNY'S BUTTONS. 

How many buttons has Benny, 

Counting 'em six for a penny ? 

Why, five on his sacque, 

And two on the back, 

And — would you believe ? — 

A pair on each sleeve ; 

And six on his trowsers. 

Yes, regular rousers ! 

And eight on his vest — 

A grand double-breast — 

All eight in full sight 

When buttoned up tight. 

Then three on one shoe. 

While the mate has but two ; 

And one at the end 

Of his top-string, depend. 

And, ah ! there 's the strap 

On his regiment-cap. 

It begins with a button 

And ends with a button ; 

And really that's all 

I now can recall. 

So, counting them six for a penny. 

How many buttons has Benny ^ 



2^2 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



If cows wore satin slippers, 
And kits were dressed in silk, 

We 'd send the mice to dancing-school, 
And Deg our buttermilk. 



Bumble, bramble, which came first, sir, 
Eggs or chickens ? Who can tell ? 

I '11 never believe that the first ^gg burst, sir. 
Before its mother was out of her shell. 




Nobody near him, all in the dark, 
Hear how fierce our dog can bark ! 
Somebody coming, by light of day. 
See how doggie scampers away ! 



THE SUN AND THE STARS. 



?43 






Oh ! no, 




'Tis n't so ! 




Papa's watch 




Won't go ? 


^ 


It mttst go — 




Guess I know ! 


Last night 


^ 


I wound it tight, 


^ 


And greased it nice 




With camphor-ice. 



THE SUN AND THE STARS. 

One day, when the sun was going down, 
He said to a star hard by : 
" Sparkle your best ; for you see, my friend, 
I 'm going out of the sky." 

Now, the little star was old as the sun, 
Though rather small of his age, 

So he kept quite still in the yellow light. 
And looked as wise as a sage. 



I 'm going, you see ! " cried the sun again, 
" Going right out of the sky ! " 



:J44 rhymes and jingles. 

And he slid away, but not out of sight 
Of that little star hard by. 

The little star, peeping, saw him go 
On his gorgeous western way ; 

And twinkled with fun, as he said, " O Sun ! 
You 're in for another day ! 

, "And as for going out of the sky, 
Your majesty knows you can't ; 
You are shining somewhere, full and strong, 
In spite of your rays aslant." 

No answer. Then the star grew bright. 
And sparkled as neighbors came ; 

He told the joke to the twinkling crowd. 
And they laughed the sun to shame. 

One gay little star was so amused, 

That he shot across the sky ; 
And all the others bobbed and blinked 

To see him go speeding by. 

But after awhile, a rosy light 
Appeared on the eastern side ; 

And, one by one, the stars grew shy, 
And tried in the sky to hide. 

" Ho ! ho ! " the sun broke forth. " Ho ! ho ! 
Just stay where you are, my dears. 
And shiae away, for you can't be seen 
When all of my light appears. 



THE SUN AND THE STARS. 



245 



The people below will say you are gone, 
Though you 're shining. Think of that ! 

Well, they thought all night I had left the sky. 
So it's only tit for tat." 




246 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



A BIRTHDAY RHYME. 

Tell me, O youth so straight and tall, 

So glad with eager thought ! 
Have you seen of late a bouncing boy 

Brimful of merry sport ? 
Brimful of merry sport is he, 

A lad of fifteen summers. 
With velvet lip still smooth and fair, 

But a fist that awes all comers. 

He used to laugh with unconcern 

Whene'er a school-girl met him. 
Unconscious quite what wondrous power 

She 'd have in time to fret him. 
He only cared for " fellows " then. 

And ball, and " tag," and " shinny," 
And thought a chap who brushed his hair 

Was just a fop or ninny. 

Somehow, I loved this bouncing boy, 

Because he was my own ; 
I had him here a year ago. 

And don't know where he 's flown. 
I don't know where he's flown, and yet 

Whenever you are near — 
It 's very odd ! — I 'm reconciled, 

Because you grow so dear. 



A BIRTHDAY RHYME. 

You bear great likeness to my boy 

I think, and — strange the whim ! — 
There's that in you which I have prayed 

Might come in time to him. 
Then if you '11 stay, my dashing youth. 

And love me, like the other, 
I '11 let him go, and, clasping you, 

Be still a happy mother. 

So hold me close, my bigger boy. 

My larger-hearted Harry, 
With broader shoulders, older head. 

And more of life to carry ; 
Hold close, and whisper, heart to heart. 

Our Lord has blessed us truly. 
Since every year we love so well, 

And find it out so newly. 

With deepened joy and prayerful love 

All in the autumn's splendor, 
I hail you, boy of mine, and give 

A welcome proud and tender. 
'Tis grand to take the birthdays in. 

If, while the years we 're counting, 
In heart and soul, in hope and aim. 

We steadily keep mounting. 



247 



►48 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 

MOTHER GOOSE FOR BIG FOLKS. 

Not only the little toddlers, 

Perched high on papa's toe, 
Bound for a ride to London town, 
On childish journeys go — 
For we all go up, up, up. 

And all go down, down, down-y. 
And all go backward and forward. 
And all go round, round, round-y. 

Still do we reach for sunbeams. 

And learn the rattle's trick. 
The great big watch of Father Time — 

We love to hear it tick ! 
To pat a cake for our Tommy, 

And pat a cake for ourself — 
For that alone we labor and strive, 

And hoard up our golden pelf 

This little pig goes to market ; 

This little pig stays at home ; 
And we all cry " Wee ! " for our mammy 

Wherever we chance to roam. 
We seek our bed with Sleepyhead, 

We stay a while with Slow ; 
And fill the pot with Greedy, glad 

To sup before we go. 

When Jack and Jill go up the hill 
To fetch their pail o' water. 



MOTHER GOOSE FOR BIG FOLKS. 249 

As sure as Jack comes tumbling down 

Poor Jill comes tumbling arter. 
Mistress Marys are still contrary, 

Marjorie Daws still sell ; 
Mother Hubbards ransack their cupboards 

For bones for their ne'er-do-well. 

Jack Horners in their corners still 

Do ply their busy thumb, 
And, " What a big boy ! " we always cry 

Whenever we see the plum. 
What do you want?" "A pot o' beer.' 

Alack the bitter wrong ! 
That grenadier an army hath 

How many million strong ! 

Our wise men into brambles still 

Do jump with might and main ; 
And those who go to sea in bowls 

Rarely come back again. 
And don't some hearts, deploring 

The things that gnaw and harrow, 
Let fall the wheelbarrow, wife and all, 

When lanes are rough and narrow } 

Ah yes ! the old rhymes suit us 

As well as ever they did ; 
For the gist of our lives, from first to last, 
Is under their jingle hid — 
As we all go up, up, up. 

And all go down, down, down-y, 
And all go backward and forward. 
And all go round, round, round-y. 



250 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



HOW THE NEW YEAR CAME. 

The sun was sinking out of sight. 

" Bessie," said Herbert, " have you heard 1 

It's really true, upon my word. 
This year is going away to-night. 

It's time is up, they say, and so 

At midnight it will have to go. 

And, right away, another year 

Will come along, a real new year. 

As soft as any mouse — 
So soft, we'll hardly hear it creep — 

Yes, come right to this very house, 
While every one 's asleep ! " 

Now, Bessie's eyes grew wide, to hear. 

" Let 's keep awake," she cried, and so 

We '11 see one come and see one go — 
Two years at once ! Wont that be queer ? 

Let's tell the New Year it is bad, 

We want the one we've always had. 
With birds and flowers and things that grow, 

And funny ice and pretty snow. 

It had my birthday, too, in May, 
And yours — when was it .'* and you know 

How it had Fourth o' July one day, 
And Christmas. Oh ! it must nt go ! " 

*'Ha! ha!" laughed Herbert, "what a Bess! 
This year was new when first it came. 



HOIV THE NEIV YEAR CAME. 25 1 

The next one will be just the same 

As this that 's going now, I guess. 

That 's nothing. But what bothers me 
Is how the change is going to be. 
I can't see how one year can go 
And one can come at midnight, so 
All in a minute — that 's the bother ! 

I've heard them say 'the rolling year': 
You'd think they'd roll on one another. 

Unless they knew just how to steer." 

The speck of time 'twixt day and day 
Was close at hand. Herbert and Bess 
Had won their parents' smiling " yes " 

To watch the old year go away. 

Nurse on the lounge found easy rest, 
Till Bess should come to be undrest ; 
All but the children were asleep, 
And years might roll, or years might creep, 
For all they cared ; while Bess and Bert, 

Who never stirred and scarcely spoke. 
Watched the great clock, awake, alert, 

All breathless for the coming stroke. 

Soon Bessie whispered, " Moll don't care." 
Moll was her doll. And Herbert said, 
" The clock 's so far up overhead 

It makes me wink to watch it there, 

The great tall thing ! Let 's look inside ! " 
And so its door they opened wide : 



252 



RHYMES AND JINGLES. 




HOIV THE NEIV YEAR CAME. 253 

TiCK-A-TiCK ! How loud it sounded ! 
Bessie's heart with wonder bounded. 
How the great round thing that hung 
Down the middle, swung and swung ! 
Tick, a-ticky a-tick, a-tick — 
Dear, how loud it was, and quick ! 
Tick-a, tick-a, tick-a, tick-a ! 
Surely it was growing quicker ! 
While the swinging thing kept on, 
Back and forth, and never done. 

There ! It 's coming ! Loud and clear. 

Each ringing stroke the night alarms. 

Bess, screaming, hid in Herbert's arms. 
The year ! " he cried, " the year ! the year ! " 

" Where } " faltered Bessie, " which } where'bouts } " 

But still *' The year ! " glad Herbert shouts ; 

And still the steady strokes rang on 

Until the banished year was gone. 

"We've seen the Old Year out — hurrah!" 

" Oh ! oh ! " sobbed Bessie, " call mamma. 

I don't like years to racket so ; 

It frightens me to hear 'em go ! " 

But Herbert kissed away her tears, 

And, gently soothing all her fears. 

He heard the New Year coming quick, 

Tick, a-tick, a-tick, a-tick ! 



254 RHYMES AND JINGLES. 



CHILDREN'S HYMN. 

Air, ''Little Drops of Water?' 

From the sunny morning 
To the starry night, 

Every look and motion 
Meets our Father's sight. 

From our earliest breathing 

To our latest year, 
Every sound we utter 

Meets our Father's ear. 

Through our earthly journey, 

Wheresoe'er we go, 
Every thought and feeling 

Doth our Father know. 

Let us then be careful 
That our looks shall be 

Brave and kind and cheerful, 
For our Lord to see. 

Let us guard each accent 

With a holy fear. 
Fit our every saying 

For our Lord to hear. 



CHILDREN'S HYMN. 



255 



Let no thought within us, 
Hidden or confessed, 

Ever bring a sorrow 

To our dear Lord's breast. 

Help us, O our Father ! 

Hear our earnest plea — 
Teach thy little children 

How to live for Thee ! 




SEP 301908 



mm^^ Of CONGRESS 




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